Northern leaders demand plan for Brexit
Region’s politicians pile pressure on Theresa May
POLITICAL LEADERS in the north have demanded billions of pounds in investment for the region as Theresa May was expected to delay the next round of Brexit votes amid deadlock.
Labour’s leaders in the north of England are piling fresh pressure on the Prime Minister to agree a major cash injection to bolster the region after Britain leaves the EU, as Mrs May prepares to ask MPs for more time to secure a new deal.
Manchester and Liverpool mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, along with Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, have called for a £70bn investment plan, designed to ensure that their areas aren’t forgotten amid the Brexit turmoil in Westminster.
The northern leaders are meeting today in Sheffield for the Transport for the North inaugural conference.
There they will launch the Strategic Transport Plan that was agreed last week, which sets out a £70bn investment programme over the next 30 years designed to “unlock £100bn in economic growth and create one million jobs”.
Speaking ahead of the meeting, Ms Blake said the North has been shut out of the major Brexit decisions for too long.
“It simply cannot be allowed to go on any longer,” she said.
“One small way for politicians at Westminster to show that it won’t be business as usual, would be for them to take these plans forward in full.”
Mr Burnham added: “The first step should be to adopt these modest proposals as a show of goodwill by Westminster leaders that northern communities will not continue to be overlooked during the Brexit process, as has sadly been the case so far.”
The demand comes as the Prime Minister prepares to delay putting her deal to MPs again until the end of February, amid deadlock in Brussels over the
controversial Northern Irish backstop.
She faced an icy reception last week when she pleaded with EU leaders to make concessions to the deal in order to placate her warring MPs and win support in parliament.
The backstop – an emergency measure to prevent a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic – was rejected by MPs in a Commons vote, in which they directed the Government to seek alternative arrangements.
But with no sign of a breakthrough from Brussels on the issue, The Sunday Times reported that Mrs May looks set to push a second meaningful vote on the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement back to the end of the month.
This week the Prime Minister is expected to make a statement in the Commons asking for more time to negotiate, and will put down a neutral motion which MPs will be able to amend.
She will also hold further talks with opposition MPs following a letter last week by Jeremy Corbyn setting out his own Brexit plan.
WITH LITTLE over six weeks to go until the UK’s planned departure from the European Union, the Government is coming under pressure in more ways than one.
The first is to break the Brexit impasse. With little sign of resolution, Prime Minister Theresa May is now planning to ask MPs for more time to secure changes to her withdrawal agreement. But this has prompted Labour to accuse her of “running down the clock” and she continues to be challenged by MPs in her own party and others that are committed to removing the possibility of leaving without a deal.
The second is to make sure that the situation at home is not forgotten about in the row over exiting the EU. It is for this reason that Labour’s leaders in the North are demanding that parties at Westminster agree to a £70bn post-Brexit investment plan for the region. For too long, power and opportunity have been concentrated in the South at the expense of the North, they say, and there is a “real danger” this could get worse with Brexit. It is claimed the programme could unlock £100bn in economic growth, create a million jobs and pave the way to devolution for northern communities. If Westminster politicians want to show that they are serious about the Northern Powerhouse and will not overlook giving the North the chance to fulfil its potential as a place that drives business, skills and economic growth, then they should certainly adopt it.
At a time when one think-tank says household incomes have taken a £1,500 hit since the referendum and another has said the Chancellor will need to find billions in extra Government spending to meet Mrs May’s pledge to end austerity, agreeing to the plan would also send out a much-needed message that although the Brexit stalemate is undoubtedly commanding much attention, whatever happens, important business at home will not be neglected.