Hand more transport powers to North, says Corbyn on rail tour

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has called for more powers for be handed to local and regional transport bodies in the North as he pledged to improve services for northern commuters during a rail tour of the region.

Mr Corbyn started his journey at Liverpool Lime Street before travelling to Manchester, Leeds and Hull on a day when Labour hit out at what it dubbed “Tory rail mayhem”. He posed for dozens of selfies with commuters as he stopped at stations and met campaigners and politicians.

Speaking aboard a train from Leeds to Hull, which was running 16 minutes late by the time it left the station, he said public transport in the North was worse than the “fully-regulated transport system of buses, underground or overground” in London.

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And he said he was “disappointed” with comments by Prime Minister Theresa May earlier this year which appeared to reject the idea of strategic body Transport for the North getting similar revenue-raising and borrowing powers to Transport for London.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn talks to Patricia Russell, watched by mother Jane and daughters Leah, 11 and Chloe, seven, on a train from Manchester Victoria Station to Leeds, as he travels the route of Crossrail for the North. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo.Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn talks to Patricia Russell, watched by mother Jane and daughters Leah, 11 and Chloe, seven, on a train from Manchester Victoria Station to Leeds, as he travels the route of Crossrail for the North. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn talks to Patricia Russell, watched by mother Jane and daughters Leah, 11 and Chloe, seven, on a train from Manchester Victoria Station to Leeds, as he travels the route of Crossrail for the North. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo.

Describing a meeting with Greater Manchester metro mayor Andy Burnham earlier that day, he said his former Labour party leadership rival did not yet have the powers for a regulated bus system similar to that in London.

He told The Yorkshire Post: “We do need regional and local transport authorities who can ensure we get an integrated service. You leave it to national decision-makers and it simply won’t happen.”

Mr Corbyn said the establishment of Transport for London as an entity with its own borrowing and investment powers had overall “been a good experience and I want the same for the rest of the country”.

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When asked if it should be Transport for the North which was handed the extra powers, he replied: “Either Transport for the North or regional within the North, North East, North West, but there has to an idea that you are promoting the integration of transport development of all elements, rail, road, bus, across the whole region.”

Mr Corbyn announced that his party, if elected, would put £10bn into a Crossrail for the North connecting the region’s big cities in a move that would improve passenger and freight transport.

The figure prompted criticism from Henri Murison of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, who said £10bn “will not be enough to secure the transformational economic impact that Northern Powerhouse Rail needs to deliver”.

Mr Murison said a pan-northern high speed rail link would need a commitment of £24bn “as set out by the National Infrastructure Commission in their assessment this year”.

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He added: “Whether the system is a mixture of public and private as it is today, or publicly owned as the Labour Party proposes, it should be run by and for the Northern Powerhouse by our mayors and our great civic leaders – not tinkered with from Whitehall by officials, remote from us and our economy, as it is today.”

Questioned over whether £10bn was sufficient, Mr Corbyn said it “would make a very good start on it and bring us the electrification that we need, that’s the important part”.

He added: “But obviously the point is to agree it, and do it and get on with it, what we have had is stop-start decision-making from the Government on this, which also means that the integration with other lines such as the Midland Mainline up to Sheffield, and its still-awaited electrification is a problem.

“There has to be an attitude by the Government that it should invest in the North, at the moment there is a four-to-one ratio of London and the South East compared to the North.”

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