29.07.19
FULL SPEECH - PM pledges Manchester-Leeds Rail Route
A new Trans-Pennine rail route between Manchester and Leeds has been confirmed, after the Prime Minister set out a domestic agenda to turbo-charge regional growth and prosperity.
In a speech in Manchester, Boris Johnson reaffirmed that one of his top domestic priorities will be to level out opportunities, and unlock the potential not just of London and the South East - but of every corner of the UK.
THE SPEECH IN FULL – 27 July 2019
“I want to be the PM who does with Northern Powerhouse Rail what we did with Crossrail in London.
"And today I am going to deliver on my commitment to that vision with a pledge to fund the Leeds to Manchester route.
"It will be up to local people and us to come to an agreement on the exact proposal they want – but I have tasked officials to accelerate their work on these plans so that we are ready to do a deal in the autumn."
Building on his commitment when entering Downing Street, the Prime Minister set out his vision to rebalance power, growth and productivity across the UK.
At the heart of this was a commitment to deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail. The first step will be the Manchester to Leeds route, with detailed plans published this autumn, following the review into HS2.
The new route is expected to cut journey times significantly and provide additional capacity for people across the region.
But the Prime Minister was also clear that his focus will not just be about major infrastructure projects.
He pledged to “improve the unglamorous local services which people use every day,” such as buses, saying it is about “services within cities, not just services between cities."
Making clear that the announcements were just the beginning of further work to boost local infrastructure and services, the Prime Minister said:
"I want to help local leaders bring their local services in all our towns and cities up to the standards of the best.
"And I want that to start now, with improvements that can happen in the short term, not just big engineering schemes that will take years.”