Boris Johnson is warned not to break his spending promises after report suggests the north will get £2,300 less per person on transport than the south
- Boris Johnson has been warned to keep investing in the North of England
- A report suggested that transport spending is £2,300 less per person in the area
- Figures for Yorkshire, the Humber and North East are seven times below London
By Daily Mail Reporter and Luke Andrews For Mailonline
Published: 20:38 EDT, 18 August 2019 | Updated: 20:48 EDT, 18 August 2019
Boris Johnson has been warned to keep his promises after a report suggested the North is due to get £2,300 less spent per person on transport than London.
Research by a think tank claims the capital will get £3,636 per person and the North just £1,247 – unless investment in the much-vaunted Northern Powerhouse gets the go-ahead.
The figure for some areas, including Yorkshire and the Humber or the North East, is seven times less than the capital.
The study also suggested that the spending gap had widened over the last decade, with the boost in London being 2.5 times more than in the North.
Boris Johnson has been warned to keep his promises after a report suggested the North is due to get £2,300 less spent per person on transport than London
Luke Raikes, of the Institute for Public Policy Research, said: ‘These figures show that the Prime Minister must urgently follow through on his promises to invest in northern transport infrastructure.’
‘The Northern Powerhouse agenda could benefit people across the whole country. Northern transport infrastructure is a national priority.’
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said the report should make ’embarrassing reading’ for the Government and said their promises are ‘about as reliable as our trains’.
‘In the five years since they first promised us a Northern Powerhouse, the transport spending gap between North and South has widened and is set to get even wider over the next decade.
‘To be fair, the new Prime Minister has recognised our frustration and made new commitments. It is essential that he now backs up his words with action.
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said the report made for ’embarrassing reading’ for the Government and that their promises are ‘about as reliable as our trains’
‘As Mayor of London, he successfully argued for new funding and powers over transport for the Capital. As Prime Minister, he must now deliver exactly the same for the North of England.’
However, a government spokesman dismissed the report out of hand and claimed that more money is currently spent on transport in the North than anywhere else.
‘We are committed to reversing decades of under-investment in northern transport including providing a record £13 billion by 2020 to improve transport networks in the North,’ they said in a statement.
‘As the Prime Minister recently set out, this Government wants to drive growth across the North including through Northern Powerhouse Rail, giving local leaders greater powers and investing £3.6 billion in towns across England.’
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