Osborne vows to kickstart the Northern powerhouse

MORE powers will be devolved to councils in the North of England, Mr Osborne pledged yesterday,

The Chancellor said ‘devolution within England has only just begun’, and revealed he had opened talks with authorities in Sheffield, Leeds, Liverpool and West Yorkshire.

An Oyster card ticketing system will be introduced on northern trains, buses and trams – partly funded by the Transport for the North quango, which will receive £30million in government funding over the next three years.

Northern cities will also be given greater powers over regeneration, publicly owned land, housing and children’s services, and directly elected mayors will be given control of fire services. The Chancellor told MPs: ‘In my view devolution within England has only just begun. Let’s invest across our country, let local people decide.’

Vowing to ensure the UK’s economic recovery was ‘truly national’, Mr Osborne added that a deal was close with Cornwall for additional devolution. He also announced £10million for broadband in the South West, £5million for transport in the Midlands and funding for £17.8million of local transport projects.

However there was disappointment at the lack of detail for major new northern rail or infrastructure projects. Greater Manchester’s interim mayor, Tony Lloyd, described the lack of infrastructure funding as a ‘glaring omission’. Labour also attacked the lack of commitment on electrification of train services.

Chris Hearld, northern chairman of professional services firm KPMG, said the Oysterstyle scheme was a ‘nice gesture’ but would not help the ‘ever- crumbling rail network’. He added: ‘It was incredibly disappointing that no further announcements were made regarding investments in our regional transport infrastructure.’ IPPR North think tank director Ed Cox said: ‘George Osborne has talked the talk of a Northern Powerhouse and not really walked the walk.’