PM sets £18bn target for Northern Powerhouse

PRIME Minister David Cameron has said the ultimate measure of the success of the Northern Powerhouse will be if it brings growth across the region up to the same levels as the rest of the UK, raising £18bn for the economy.

During his visit to Manchester with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Mr Cameron said the success or failure of the Government’s Northern Powerhouse strategy could be measured every year, but the final judgement would be in 2020, at the end of the current parliament.

On a visit with the President to Manchester City’s new Academy, Mr Cameron told TheBusinessDesk: “The ambition is to bring growth rate of the North West and the whole of the North of England up to the level of the whole of the UK.
 
“That would add something like £18bn to our economy. We can measure progress every year, but this is a five year parliament and we should make a judgement in 2020 about how far we’ve come.
 
“But it should be measured in jobs and livelihoods and the financial security of families across the North of England.”

Mr Cameron also trumpeted Chinese investment across the North West, and direct flights to Beijing from Manchester, announced yesterday.

“Why it matters is because of the connectivity it brings between the North West and China,” he said. “We have something  160,000 Chinese tourists coming to the UK every year, but only 14,000 or 15,000 coming to the North West.

“So having this connectivity and having 120,000 people using these flights every year will make a big difference.”

Mr Cameron also moved to scotch suggestions that the Northern Powerhouse was chiefly only going to benefit the Greater Manchester economy.

He said: “The Northern Powerhouse is for the whole of the North of our country. The aim is to rebalance our economy and to make sure we’re not so reliant on London and the South East.

“It’s about linking up the great cities of the North. It’s great that we’re bringing the Chinese President to Manchester today but you also see Chinese investment going into Sheffield, Leeds, and other parts of the North of England, so I think this is a big win for the North of England. It’s the start of something big.”

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