Rishi Sunak must deliver on pledge to rewrite the book on Northern investment: The Yorkshire Post says

Rishi Sunak delivering his Budget in the House of Commons, London. Picture: Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA WireRishi Sunak delivering his Budget in the House of Commons, London. Picture: Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA Wire
Rishi Sunak delivering his Budget in the House of Commons, London. Picture: Parliament/Jessica Taylor/PA Wire | HOC/JESSICA TAYLOR
While Rishi Sunak’s first Budget as Chancellor in March was swiftly overtaken by events as the coronavirus pandemic led to unpredecented public spending decisions to keep as many jobs and businesses afloat as possible, one of the promises he made during it holds one of the keys to bringing Yorkshire and the UK out of the severe recession that is now unfolding.

Mr Sunak promised to “change the whole mindset of Government” to help deliver on the Conservatives’ ‘levelling-up’ agenda, starting with a review of the so-called Green Book – the Treasury rules used to evaluate major state investment projects that are currently weighted in favour of London and the South-East.

The existing strength of the economy in those areas means they are perceived by the rules as a safer bet for returns on Government investment – leading to equally worthy Northern projects being overlooked.

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As Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis powerfully puts it in this newspaper today, changing those rules could at the stroke of a pen in Whitehall deliver millions of pounds of vitally-needed investment in the North of England.

Changes to the Green Book rules were already vital in helping to reduce the North-South divide prior to coronavirus.

But they now offer an opportunity to provide the region and the country with an exit route from the unfolding economic crisis, which is expected to hit many communities in Yorkshire particularly hard.

This is no time for business as usual in all areas of life and the same principle applies here. The focus should not merely be on economic recovery and returning things to how they were but instead seizing the moment to renew regions like Yorkshire.

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As the proverb goes, in the midst of every crisis, there lies opportunity. That opportunity simply must be grasped.

Editor’s note: first and foremost - and rarely have I written down these words with more sincerity - I hope this finds you well.

Almost certainly you are here because you value the quality and the integrity of the journalism produced by The Yorkshire Post’s journalists - almost all of which live alongside you in Yorkshire, spending the wages they earn with Yorkshire businesses - who last year took this title to the industry watchdog’s Most Trusted Newspaper in Britain accolade.

And that is why I must make an urgent request of you: as advertising revenue declines, your support becomes evermore crucial to the maintenance of the journalistic standards expected of The Yorkshire Post. If you can, safely, please buy a paper or take up a subscription. We want to continue to make you proud of Yorkshire’s National Newspaper but we are going to need your help.

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Postal subscription copies can be ordered by calling 0330 4030066 or by emailing [email protected]. Vouchers, to be exchanged at retail sales outlets - our newsagents need you, too - can be subscribed to by contacting subscriptions on 0330 1235950 or by visiting www.localsubsplus.co.uk where you should select The Yorkshire Post from the list of titles available.

If you want to help right now, download our tablet app from the App / Play Stores. Every contribution you make helps to provide this county with the best regional journalism in the country.

Sincerely. Thank you.

James Mitchinson

Editor

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