Rail line could have brought new jobs and growth to area
Last week Boris Johnson admitted he crashed the car when it came to sleaze, as it became clear just how much money Tory
MPs have been raking in from outside jobs.
He's also derailed our trains, with another set of broken promises on rail.
Headlines in the national papers focused on the cancellation ofthefastLeeds-Manchesterrailway,andtheeasternlegofHS2,the part of the long-promised highspeed link which would have helped give us more capacity on the East Coast Main Line.
Butwhatwasmostdisappointing
in the announcements from thegovernmentwasthefateofthe Leamside Line. The mothballed line between Newcastle and Durham through Fencehouses, Penshaw,
and Washington - should beavitalpartofbringingnewjobs and growth to our area.
Reopening it would enable faster journeys across our region and new rail links for so many of us, opening up opportunities for businesses to grow and thrive.
Like so many local people and together with my colleague SharonHodgsonMP,I'vecampaigned for years to see that line reopened - asking questions in Parliament, lobbying the Minister to visit, and supporting the Restoring Your Railways fund bid.
Again and again it's clear that sadly that line is going nowhere under the Tories. Last week, I was bitterly disappointed that ourRestoringYourRailwaysfund bid was again knocked back. This was a missed opportunity for local people and businesses alike.
Thereiswidesupportandastrong economic case for re-opening.
TheTorieshavebeeninpower 11yearsnow.It'snogoodlocalConservatives pretending to be disappointed - it's their government which has yet again let down local people and businesses.
Sadly that's no surprise - we all saw the respect the Prime MinisterhasforbusinessesintheNorth East when he turned up in South Shields this week for the annual conference of business group the CBI.
He delivered a speech which was incoherent, rambling, and shambolic.
ThecontrastwithLabourleader Keir Starmer could not have beenclearer.KeirshowedthatLabour is back in business – setting out how the next Labour government will work with businesses and unions to improve skills and drivegrowthineverycornerofour country.
It's Labour – the party of work – which today is both the party of workersandthepartyofbusiness.