Boris Johnson can Power Up The North by bringing the whole Cabinet to Yorkshire in New Year – The Yorkshire Post says
Why? This county encapsulates the challenges that face the Government, and the opportunities that exist, if the Prime Minister is to reciprocate the trust placed in him by voters across the North.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdBut such a visit has the potential to be far more constructive than the Cabinet meetings which Gordon Brown, and then David Cameron, held in Leeds in 2008 and 2013.
These were very much for show, though Mr Cameron’s meeting did involve some discussion on HS2. But this is where Mr Johnson can differentiate himself if he truly wants to be a genuine One Nation leader who turbo-charges the Northern Powerhouse and tackles regional inequality.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdWhat he should do is invite Ministers to spend time here in advance of the Cabinet meeting families, businesses and stakeholders in an environment less frenzied than the election campaign, so that they are fully aware of the key issues before meeting to discuss affairs of state.
If their travels involve being left at the mercy of train operators like TransPennine Express and Northern, they will, hopefully, realise that transport is a key element of their aspiration agenda.
And such experiences will, hopefully, lead them to conclude that it is the Whitehall machine that needs to be cranked into gear if the Government is to deliver for the whole country and allay the fears of former ministers like Rotherham-born Justine Greening.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdShe discloses in this newspaper that the Treasury, in her view, does not know how to “invest in people for the long term” and needs to be reformed if the North is to become the land of opportunity in the next decade that so many people, including Mr Johnson, do now envisage.
Over to you, Prime Minister.