Henri Murison
‘The country needs a devolution revolution, and all the parties are promising much.’
THIS ELECTION has seen the North come in and out of focus, with many in the national media seeing it through a lens of North versus South. And the focus, as we approach polling day, is already sharpening here in part because the electoral maths is such that Boris Johnson’s path to a majority government passes through Penistone, up to the North East through Bishop Auckland and across to Workington.
Much of it, however, is because The Yorkshire Post, and more than 30 fellow titles across the North and the Evening Standard edited by former Chancellor George Osborne, joined together to make the case to Power up the North.
That has made sure that, rather than just paying lip service, there are going to be real, credible commitments on the table. The misery of the floods and frustration at daily commutes demand answers.
We come together now from the perspective of London and the North to emphasise that closing the North-South divide, bringing this country together, is not a zero-sum game.
The North benefits from the presence of a global city of London’s importance on our doorstep, but is disadvantaged by the over-centralisation of political power in Whitehall which is as much of a frustration to Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of
London, as it is to the Metro Mayor of the Sheffield City region, Dan Jarvis, or Coun Judith Blake, the Leader of Leeds Council, and Andy Street in the West Midlands.
The country needs a devolution revolution, and all the parties are promising much. The Conservatives wish to extend devolution to those places where it has not yet been delivered, including here in the North. Labour’s manifesto backs One Yorkshire, and the Liberal Democrats back more funding to local authorities.
There has been effective collaboration between Mayors and the northern cities, dating back to when Boris Johnson was
Mayor of London, and we cannot be divided but must remain united, within the North and with our allies who also want to control their own destiny, make their own choices and deliver real change for their cities.
As business-led organisations, both the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and London First work closely together on issues such as skills and infrastructure investment and are committed to continue doing so.
Increasing expenditure on infrastructure is an economic no-brainer. We need both Northern Powerhouse Rail, supported by all the parties, but also Crossrail 2. It’s particularly disappointing for Crossrail 2 to be absent from manifestos where the leaders of those same parties have previously backed it.
Northern Powerhouse Rail will stimulate demand, making transformational economic growth possible, and Crossrail 2 will boost capacity on a heaving transport network while unlocking jobs and homes. HS2 of course unites the interests of London and the Northern Powerhouse, bringing the country together, and releasing additional capacity to London from places like Milton Keynes, as well as Chesterfield to Sheffield and all the stations in the towns and villages between Doncaster and Leeds.
The Northern Powerhouse Independent Review into the project found no other credible way to provide the additional connectivity we need to close the NorthSouth divide.
The risks of cancelling HS2 is real, with the Conservative position still ambiguous compared to Labour’s unequivocal support. In these last few days, there is still time for more candidates from the main parties to back both this project and Northern Powerhouse Rail by taking the Connecting Britain pledge. Jobs in train manufacturing in the North are at risk, and the supply chain for the wider project stretches far and wide, as well as the transport benefits.
A devolution revolution for London’s mayorality and the Northern Powerhouse will unite the country. We must address the profound disconnection of communities in many of our northern towns from even the nearby city engines of growth, and for which Whitehall-based policy-making is not the answer but instead a Northern virtual city of 15 million people which is of comparable success and prosperity to London, unlocking £1 trillion economic growth by 2050. A partnership of equals in the future, always allies, collaborating and not competing to ensure the UK grows together and we win the global race.