Despite grit and graft the North sees far less return than the South - Luke Charters MP and Praful Nargund

Recent steps to address this, such as relocating the Bank of England and regulators like the Financial Conduct Authority to the North, are welcome and strengthened by this Labour government’s decision to base the National Wealth Fund in Leeds.

But the scale of the challenge is undeniable. Nowhere is the need for change more urgent than in the North, where communities have waited decades for their fair share of growth.

The North is not one homogenous block. It is a rich tapestry of towns, cities and communities that powered Britain’s industrial revolution. Yet in recent years, it has faced the worst of all worlds: declining growth and falling living standards.

Fifteen million people living here were told to wait their turn under successive Conservative governments that promised fantasy projects and delivered nothing.

Rail lines never came, investment pledges were broken, and slogans like Northern Powerhouse and Levelling Up amounted to all talk and no action. Meanwhile, the gap in productivity, pay and opportunity widened because the North was never given the same tools and freedoms other parts of the UK take for granted.

People notice. As one voter in a recent Good Growth Foundation focus group put it: “All the negatives and all the ripple effects of these broken promises and these terrible decisions directly impact us, and I feel like it impacts the North more than anywhere.”

The deeper problem is structural. The UK’s economic system has failed for too long to recognise the scale and urgency of the challenge. This Labour government has acted, making overdue changes like reforming the Treasury’s Green Book, but there is still work to do to deliver the growth we all want to see.

People do not care about abstract growth figures; they care about practical change, good jobs, thriving towns and being able to get from A to B. Transport and connectivity create real opportunity, helping people get to work, access better jobs and enjoy life.

That is why projects like HS2 matter. Yet populist parties on the right and left, from Reform UK to the Greens, want to scrap HS2 and block progress.

They want to scrap ambition. And never forget, under the Tories, grafters had to cut beer money to pay spiralling bills or give up days out with their family just to cover the cost of getting to work. That cannot happen again.

Rebuilding national growth isn’t a slogan; it’s a chance to rewire Britain. That means treating the North as one connected economy, not a patchwork of projects. Liverpool to Leeds is barely the distance of the Elizabeth Line.

A Northern Growth Corridor linking York, Leeds and Manchester, underpinned by the Transpennine Route Upgrade delivered by this Labour Government would reverse decades of neglect and create a single economic partnership with the scale to compete globally.

This requires fiscal firepower and delivery of key infrastructure like Northern Powerhouse Rail. There’s success to build on, too. Greater Manchester has grown by 3.1 per cent over the last decade, faster than the national average.

West Yorkshire’s creative industries are expanding faster than anywhere outside London. These are not experiments; they are evidence. And they are visible. Walk through Manchester and you will see new towers, bustling cafes and housing Britain desperately needs.

Invest in Britain’s future and it arrives sooner than you expect. The last Labour government rewired Britain through bold infrastructure and state reform.

The Elizabeth Line, HS1 and Heathrow expansion were right for their time because London was where the opportunity lay.

Today, the opportunity lies in the North. And there is no better place to start than there.

Luke Charters is the Labour MP for York Outer and Praful Nargund is director of the Good Growth Foundation.