YP Comment: Battle for transport spending

AT FIRST glance, there is little in the latest figures for transport spending to cheer Yorkshire's hard-pressed commuters, nor those would-be entrepreneurs hoping for infrastructure spending to help unleash this region's vast economic potential.

While spending per capita on current or planned projects in London, for example, is roaring ahead at £1,943, according to the IPPR North think-tank, the figure for Yorkshire and Humber is a comparatively measly £190, the lowest of anywhere in England.

However, as the think-tank’s researchers suggest, if the North’s potential is going to be unlocked, the North needs to take back control over transport spending. And the fact that the North West region is benefiting to the tune of £680 per head, more than any other region outside London, suggests that the Government’s proposed Northern Powerhouse is indeed beginning to take shape.

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Chris Grayling, in fact, insists that it only a matter of time and, when the HS2 high-speed rail project gets underway, spending will be far more evenly distributed. However, how much time does this region have?

As the Transport Secretary knows, it is the HS3 trans-Pennine link for which the North is really crying out. Yet the timescale for high-speed rail is already frustratingly long and now Mr Grayling seems to be moving the focus away from rail electrification, another boost that this region badly needs.

But if, as the Minister insists, trans-Pennine services are still a priority, the message to Yorkshire is clear. Politicians on this side of the Pennines must stop stalling, agree a devolution deal, take control of transport spending and forge ahead in the way that the North West is now doing. Otherwise, it may well be that the North-South divide becomes an East-West divide.