The Government’s lack of commitment to new rail infrastructure is “negligent” and “insulting” to the people of the North of England, Andy Burnham has said.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester called on Rachel Reeves to use her Budget next week to give the green light to both Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) and an alternative to the cancelled northern leg of HS2.
“Ten years ago a previous government promised us new north-south and east-west rail line,” Burnham said in a speech to launch the Greater Manchester “Good Growth Fund” in Stockport.
“Now we have no such commitments. It is more than unacceptable. It is negligent to the needs of our region and insulting to its people.”
Labour has given repeated assurances that it will set out its plans for future rail investment since taking power last May.
But an announcement has yet to materialise and The i Paper reported last month that northern leaders claim to have been locked out of negotiations to get an agreement across the line.
Burnham said a lack of clarity was the “single biggest risk to Greater Manchester’s growth in the next decade”.
“We need to spell something out very clearly,” he added.
“If the UK decides that the North West of England can have no better than its existing infrastructure, our highly congested rail lines, our M6, M60, M62 motorways, that is an intentional anti-growth policy.
“While we accept that it won’t be delivered imminently, all of the infrastructure that we need, a commitment to build an ‘Elizabeth Line’ for the North West, to be operational by the 2040s, and an alternative to HS2 between the Midlands and Cheshire, would at least give investors clarity and confidence about the infrastructure to come.”
Earlier this year, Reform said it would scrap both HS2 and NPR if it came into government. NPR was first proposed by George Osborne in 2014 and aimed to cut travel times between northern cities and towns.
Rishi Sunak axed the northern leg of HS2 which would have linked Birmingham to Manchester and beyond.
Labour MPs in “Red Wall” seats, such as Connor Naismith, have campaigned for HS2 to be extended and told The i Paper that he and colleagues have been left “frustrated to say the least” by the current lack of commitment on rail investment.
Leadership ambitions
Burnham has faced renewed questions over his leadership ambitions following comments from MP Clive Lewis who said he would give up his seat to allow the former Health Secretary a route back into Westminster.
The Mayor said while he was “grateful for the support”, he was focused on his job as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
He also welcomed reports that the Government is considering a “mansion tax” to help plug the country’s financial black hole, said to be between £20bn and £30bn.
“I am encouraged by the talk of reforming council tax, properties have not been revalued since the early 90s,” Burnham said.
“The reality of it is that residents in Greater Manchester are paying way more in Band D properties than people in Band H properties in London.
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“Council tax is very unfair – there is a case for people in those much more valuable homes to pay a fairer share.”
Burnham announced the launch of a new £1bn Greater Manchester Growth Fund that will fund 30 regeneration schemes in the city-region, describing it as a “decisive break” from the “Whitehall way” that has left the country with “wide inequalities between people and places”.
Previously, a government spokesperson said: “We are engaging with mayors in the North to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail – this is a major investment and we are committed to getting it right – taking time to plan carefully, learning from past mistakes to truly deliver for the North.”
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