Sir Keir Starmer has risked “digging himself a grave” and fuelling further support for Andy Burnham by delaying plans to invest in the north’s railway network, insiders have said.
The Prime Minister is facing an increasingly bold challenge from the Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester ahead of the party’s conference in Liverpool, which begins on Sunday.
It was expected that the Prime Minister would use the conference to confirm his support for new rail investment between Liverpool and Manchester – one of Burnham’s top priorities – and give the pair an opportunity to show a united front.
However, BBC News reported on Wednesday night that the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) announcement – initially expected to be unveiled in the weeks after the spending review in June – was to be further delayed amid claims the plan requires more “tyre kicking”.
Instead, Rachel Reeves is now expected to announce plans for the high-speed rail scheme ahead of the Budget.
A Government source told The i Paper it remains “fully committed” to NPR and that the plan will be set out “in the coming weeks”.
It comes after an interview with The Daily Telegraph, in which Burnham claimed he was contacted “throughout the summer” by Labour MPs about the potential of launching a bid to be party leader – but insisted he remains supportive of Starmer.
But there is growing frustration about the repeated delays on NPR, particularly among Labour’s northern membership.
Burnham immediately raised his concerns, telling BBC Radio Manchester: “The news today around the rail project we’ve worked on being put on hold, when we see projects going on in the south, I don’t think that is the plan we need.
“We need to be prioritising investment here in a place that’s growing stronger than anywhere in the UK.”
A map of the route of the proposed HS2 North replacementOne North West Labour MP said they believe the NPR decision will only further open up a divide between Burnham and Starmer.
“Andy Burnham is very passionate about this, you can see it from space that he’s not happy with the direction of the government and thinks he has something else to offer, I just think in that context Keir is digging himself a grave,” they said.
“Even now, I would like Keir to make it work, I don’t think it’s helpful to swap and change leaders, as we saw with the Tories.
“However, with the situation we’ve got at the moment it’s like he’s trying to empower other challengers.
“I like Andy Burnham and I think he has something good to offer. I’m waiting for the government to signal to MPs like me that they’ve got this under control and can turn it around and this [NPR] is a perfect example.
“I think Number 10 needs to find a way to unblock whatever it is that’s blocking it.”
Another of Labour’s mayors in the north said they believe the government remains committed to NPR but the announcement keeps “slipping”.
“They [the government] are really conscious of getting it right and I have some sympathy with that,” they added.
“There is so much cynicism about it, if they come out with a plan and it isn’t watertight and they can’t crack on with it, I do think it will sink without a trace, and actually cause a huge amount of damage.
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“So I would rather they got it right albeit it’s not easy from my perspective or theirs to be defending that.”
The previous Tory government committed £17bn to a new railway line between Manchester and Liverpool as part of the Network North plan unveiled when the northern leg of HS2 was axed.
Labour have refused to recommit to the funding and The i Paper understands it is Treasury concerns, rather than objectons from Number 10 or the Department for Transport, that is holding up an announcement.
Earlier this month, Reform UK said it would scrap both HS2 and NPR if in government and focus investment on “commuter” railway lines instead.
Labour MP Connor Naismith, who has campaigned for HS2 to be extended to his constituency in Crewe, said: “MPs are frustrated to say the least. There’s an opportunity here for a dividing line.
“Who’s really serious about investment in infrastructure in the North?
“One of the most damaging things about Reform’s announcement is – what message does it send to industry?
“It’s bad enough that what some might call the main opposition aren’t behind it [NPR], we need the government to take decisive action to back this project.”
Henri Murison, chief executive of lobby group the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, added: “The government is still seeking to make a choice about something that is very important and quite complicated and it’s a mess they inherited.
“But now it’s their decision to deal with it and if they want to achieve their wider economic growth goals this is a part of that long-term planning.
“They really need to decide what the level of investment should be.
“Either something that is going to cost money but is absolutely necessary, or accept the fact that the northern economy is underperforming and you aren’t prepared to fix that, which has been the Treasury position for decades.
“There’s no way of getting out of the choice.
“The business community still has every confidence it [NPR] will happen.”
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