, Shadow Transport
Secretary, along with Yorkshire Labour MPs has
today written to the Transport Secretary to express their
anger at the Government’s continued neglect and underfunding of
transport in the north.
The full text of the letter is below.
Rt Hon MP
Secretary of State for Transport
Department of Transport
Great Minister House
33 Horseferry Road
London
SW1P 4DR
24th August 2017
Dear Secretary of State,
We the undersigned are writing in response to your article in the
Yorkshire Post (22 August 2017) to express our anger at your
Government’s continued neglect and underfunding of transport in
the north.
We could not agree more that the north makes a massive
contribution to the success and prosperity of the UK. We are very
proud of our region, our towns and our cities, and the people we
represent. We are pleased that you acknowledge this and that our
growth and prosperity is being held back by poor transport. We
recognise that investing in reliable, affordable transport is
essential for delivering productivity and growth, rebalancing the
economy and tackling climate change.
But we also know that the root cause of poor connectivity is
underinvestment in Yorkshire and the Humber and the north and
that this continues to undermine our economic prosperity.
Responsibility for that falls squarely upon you and your most
recent predecessors.
Let us be very clear - the north stands ready to sort out its own
transport priorities, as you suggest. But we must have your
support.
We need the requisite powers and funding from central government,
something you have resolutely refused to release from your grip.
Instead of backing the north and its transport infrastructure you
have presided over underfunding, broken promises and a scandalous
north-south disparity in investment.
The UK suffers some of the worst regional inequalities in Europe.
Ensuring each region receives its fair share of transport
investment is a key priority for us, as it should be for you.
IPPR North found that spending in Yorkshire and the Humber is
£190 per person compared with £1,943 in London. You must address
this disparity and offer us our fair share of funding. Do that,
and we can deliver the transport links the north needs.
We implore you to reconsider the cancellation of electrification
of the TransPennine and Midland Mainline routes (which have been
promised since 2012, and repeatedly delayed) in favour of slower,
less reliable, more polluting bi-mode trains. Telling the
north to sort itself out at the same time as pulling the plug on
major, repeatedly promised investment is at best disingenuous, at
worst an outrage.
Transport for the North could and indeed should play a far more
substantial role in determining and delivering our transport
priorities. We would welcome that. But it would be incumbent on
you devolving more powers. We could deliver better rail services
and with London-style powers to regulate bus services to all
areas that want them, not just those with metro mayors, we could
ensure lower fares, better provision and improved services.
We are serious about our transport network and challenge you to
match Labour's commitment to delivering Crossrail for
the North - a coast-to-coast, east-west rail line that
connects the north from Hull to Liverpool.
You made the point that the north of England would be among the
10th biggest economies in Europe, if it were a separate nation.
But we are not a separate nation and you hold the keys to
unlocking our potential and our future.
Mr Grayling, we need no more delays. No more broken promises. No
more warm words. Give us the investment, give us devolution,
empower the north and we will deliver transport fit for the
21st century.
Yours sincerely,
Sir MP
Chair of the Yorkshire & Humber Parliamentary Labour Group
Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
Rachel Maskell MP – Shadow Transport Minister
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