MP blames Labour for divide in call for new approach

The study, by a North West Conservative MP, insists the Government is broadly “on the right course” to help re-balance the economy but suggests more could be done to improve infrastructure and help drive growth amongst Northern firms.

In a direct challenge to the Labour Party analysis that a Tory-led Government will never bridge the inequalities between North and South due to the party’s reluctance to intervene in the economy, Conservative backbencher Eric Ollerenshaw said it is the Left’s “top-down approach” which has actually failed the North.

“The Coalition has made very clear that it wants to rebalance the economy,” he said. “The Government has made a good start by showing it is prepared to invest in new infrastructure – not least High Speed 2 and the expansion of superfast broadband – whilst also removing cumbersome and bureaucratic regional structures.”

The report says “further infrastructure improvements” are now required, but also calls for “more innovation” from Northern councils, universities, Enterprise Partnerships and businesses to drive “bottom-up growth”.

This week Labour leader Ed Miliband said the Conservatives would “never” bridge the North-South divide because their instinct is always “to get out of the way”.

But Mr Ollerenshaw said it is his party’s localist approach that will help to drive forward the Northern economy, calling for new measures such as a Northern stock exchange and an extension of the Enterprise Zone system to spark innovation.

“We need to see change in attitude and thinking,” he said. “The old top-down approach is being replaced by a bottom-up localism. Whilst Government can provide a policy framework and infrastructure support, local communities know best how to revive and improve their own areas.”