21.11.18
Transport spending in London double that of the north since launch of Northern Powerhouse
Government spending on transport in London has risen to twice as much per person compared to the north since the launch of the Northern Powerhouse, new analysis has found.
Statistics analysed by influential think tank IPPR North found that while the capital has seen a £326-per-person surge in public spending, the north has seen an increase less than half its size at just £146.
The startling statistics will likely reaffirm and frustrate opinions that the north feels devoid of investment in its transport systems that were recently rocked by a chaotic two months on the railways during the summer.
Former chancellor George Osborne and the Cameron government at the time introduced the Northern Powerhouse concept in 2014 as a new frontier for investment in the north. But, despite current chancellor Philip Hammond’s allocation of £37m for Northern Powerhouse Rail in last month’s Budget, analysis released by the IPPR contradict these aspirations.
Interestingly, spending has soared in the north west in the past year, rising by £158 per person compared to £91 per person in London. Yet spending per head in the north west remains much lower, at £528 compared to £1,019 per person in London.
Overall, transport spending per person remains around twice as high in London as in the north — which has remained the same case for the past decade.
In other areas around the north, spending actually fell in Yorkshire and the Humber by £18 per person, more than any other region, whilst in the north east it rose by just £2 per person.
“An increase in spending in the north west in the past year is very welcome,” said Luke Raikes, senior research fellow at IPPR North.
“As is the £37m announced in the Budget for transport in the north, but the North East and Yorkshire and the Humber are yet to see such a boost, and investment in the north still pales in comparison to spending in London. People are continuing to suffer the very real effects of decades of underinvestment, and the ongoing chaos on northern trains is a clear sign of how far there is to go.”
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