Deliver HS2 leg to Leeds to bridge East-West divide, northern leaders urge Boris Johnson

Politicians are calling for more clarity on the high-speed rail project’s eastern leg – which runs through Leeds, Sheffield and Nottingham, after a new report shows stark social and economic inequalities between the eastern and western regions of the Northern Powerhouse and Midlands Engine.

A letter to Boris Johnson signed by a group of MPs, councillors and business leaders including Leeds MP Hilary Benn, Baroness Morgan and former Transport Secretaries Lord Adonis and Lord McLoughlin, says productivity along the eastern leg of HS2 was found to be ten per cent lower than along its western leg.

While the three eastern leg regions; Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands and North East have the three lowest productivity rates in England, falling 35 per cent, 33 per cent, and 32 per cent below that of London.

In a challenge to the PM’s levelling-up agenda, they argue that this lack of productivity helps drive social inequalities, which is holding back the northern economy.

Mr Benn, the Labour MP for Leeds Central, said: "We know that the full economic potential of the North is not being tapped and that children who grow up poor in the eastern regions of the Midlands and the North are more likely to stay poor and less likely to achieve social mobility.

"We need to do something about this, and investment in HS2’s eastern leg will help to create jobs, unlock regeneration and increase productivity that our communities need if these divisions are to be reduced."

It comes as a new report, by the HS2 East group, which is co-chaired by is co-chaired by Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake, warned that communities surrounding the eastern leg of HS2 Phase 2b suffer from lower productivity, poorer social mobility and receive lower levels of transport investment than communities surrounding its western leg, set to run from Birmingham to Manchester.

The report added the eastern leg regions were also home to twice as many ‘social mobility coldspots’ than the western leg regions; areas where local authorities were within the worst 20 per cent UK-wide for a range of criteria including the education provided to deprived children, the grades they receive and the jobs they secure.

The letter says the eastern leg is an "essential" investment to address these inequalities, highlighting the huge regeneration schemes it is set to catalyse across the East Midlands, Yorkshire and North East, creating over 150,000 highly-skilled jobs.

The Government has previously said it is committed to delivering HS2 Phase 2B and Northern Powerhouse Rail, but ahead of its publication of the Integrated Rail Plan, which is examining how best to integrate the phase, leaders say that all HS2 phases must be delivered in full, with both the eastern and western legs built to the same time scale.

Darren Henry, MP for Broxtowe, said: "The Government has committed to levelling-up the UK economy, and delivering the eastern leg of HS2, in full, is an essential step in doing this.

"As well as creating thousands of highly-skilled jobs, the Eastern Leg will also speed our transition to a cleaner, greener transport network.

"Poor access to transport is a key indicator of social deprivation, we need this investment to improve local and regional connectivity and speed the way to a productive recovery from COVID-19."

____________________________

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson