Billions more for London as North loses out

The call to action follows revelations that Ministers are preparing to spend up to £6bn on a new tunnel underneath the river Thames – on top of the billions already set aside for infrastructure projects in the South East.

The announcement has already sparked criticism from researchers at IPPR North, who accused the Government of formulating transport policy in “reaction” to congestions problems in the South.

But local MPs and business leaders have also questioned the decision, arguing that big infrastructure projects in the North are just as important to the country’s prosperity as schemes in London.

“Transport investment in the North remains crucial to our future success, and therefore to the UK’s success,” said West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce spokesman Mike Cartwright.

“This is why we are backing the Northern Powerhouse initiative and, in particular the transport elements such as the proposed high-speed trans-Pennine link.

“We have also just responded to the Industrial Strategy consultation... including calls to recognise the need to break out of the London-centric nature of our transport system.

“If schemes such as the Dartford Crossing tunnel are strategically important for the whole country, and not just London, as Chris Grayling claims, then so is Northern Powerhouse rail.”

Plans for the new multi-billion Dartford tunnel come amid ongoing uncertainty about the future of rail electrification projects in Yorkshire and growing frustration about delays on the A64 road between York and Scarborough,

Earlier this year, the Tory peer Baroness McIntosh and Thirsk and Malton MP Kevin Hollinrake issued fresh calls for the road to be dualled, claiming it would “make a massive difference” to people’s daily lives.

Unveiling plans for the new tunnel Transport Secretary Chris Grayling insisted it was “strategically important for the whole country”. He also stressed that work in the North such as the Ordsall Chord project in Manchester are part of “a really extensive improvement on a scale that simply hasn’t been seen for a very long time”.

However, IPPR North researcger Luke Raikes said the North “needs investment now more than ever” following the Brexit vote.

“London is set to receive more than half the country’s public and public-private funded transport infrastructure,” he said. “The Government’s industrial strategy should use infrastructure, alongside other interventions, to harness the potential of the North, instead of just reacting to congestion in the South-East.”

Mr Hollinrake said: “There is a long standing and quite outrageous unfairness in the way spending is distributed in this country which totally disadvantages the regions, including Yorkshire. I have raised this issue on many occasions in Parliament.”