O’Neill pledges transport action after setback

COMMERCIAL Secretary to the Treasury Lord O’Neill, the new minister brought in by Chancellor George Osborne to make the aspiration of Northern Powerhouse a reality, said there would be better news soon on transport for the region.

Speaking at the Greater Manchester Chamber annual dinner on Thursday night, hours after the Department for Transport said it was halting work on plans to electrify the Manchester – Leeds railway line because of over-spending and poor performance by Network Rail, O’Neill pledged Northern Powerhouse was on track.

Hailing his home city as “the centre of the universe”, he said business leaders and local politicians have to spread the word that regional devolution is a “game changer” the economy.

Addressing transport specifically, he said: “I am hopeful in the Budget we will see more specific ideas for how to make transport in the North become real,” adding that central to this would be an Oyster card for the North, which he said would help encourage people to move more freely around key cities for work.

“I spent most of my career examining the factors that drive economic growth.
During my time in the City, I concluded that the countries which are the most successful all have strong, interconnected urban areas -beyond the capital. That is what we want to create here in the UK.

“It’s what the Chancellor, a year ago, called the Northern Powerhouse. At the time, I said it was probably the most important speech on the balance of economic competences in our country by a Chancellor for at least 30 years.

“And I am thrilled to be one of the Ministers helping make it reality. I think we are on the verge of something quite exciting here – something which could revitalise our nation’s cities.

Manchester City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said: “Greater Manchester has demonstrated that the top down, one size fits all model of public service delivery is no longer fit for purpose. It is costly, inefficient and poor at tackling the complex problems that people in or communities face.

“With an elected mayor which is part of the combined authority, it brings real power, particularly in matters of planning, hosing and transport. The prize of devolution for Greater Manchester is a better performing economy both here and nationally.

“And the prize is more people benefiting and less dependent. Greater Manchester will be healthier and wealthier and a better place to live.”

Greater Manchester’s interim mayor Tony Lloyd added: “This is a city where dreaming is very real, that in the 19th century saw the challenge from the Liverpool merchants and as a result of that merchants built the Manchester Ship Canal – an astonishing piece of engineering that led to the city becoming one of the great ports in the world.

“The challenge now is to have economic development and bring every one of the 2.8 million people in the connurbation and indeed everyone in the North with it.”