Road block

A thriving economy depends on the existence of adequate road links, and this region's network of motorways and trunk routes is already

operating at breaking point.

Of course, a high-speed rail link – if built – will have the potential to revolutionise inter-city travel. Nevertheless, it will only take a relatively small number of vehicles off the road each day.

The challenge, in the current financial climate, is to keep Britain moving while long-term projects, like new rail links, are considered. Of course, the widening of the A1 through North Yorkshire, now underway, will help.

Yet it will not benefit those sections where widening work is still not planned, or roads like the M62 where the hard shoulder is to be converted into an extra lane as part of a sticking plaster solution.

Short cuts are not the answer. A long-term plan is required to upgrade the country's major roads. It needs to start with an acceptance, by the next government, that the current funding formula needs to be reversed so Yorkshire enjoys parity with London and the South East.