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Clegg calls for better rail links to support Northern growth at Leeds summit

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has called for greater investment in Northern rail links and tourism top combat economic decline at the Northern Futures Summit in Leeds.

He has called for a fully upgraded and electrified network between Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield and other improvements to rail links and motorways in an attempt to combat economic decline.

An electrified Pennine train line would shorten journey times to 40 minutes between any two of Manchester, Leeds and Sheffield.

Council leaders have claimed a 20-minute cut in journey times between Leeds and Manchester would be worth £6.7 billion and create nearly 30,000 jobs across the north of England

Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) said: “The Northern Futures summit today confirms what we have long believed, that the North is no longer the problem, but instead the solution to sustaining the UK’s prosperity and global competitiveness.

“The scale of opportunity in the Leeds City Region is immense. We are the largest economy outside of London and have already delivered significant impact with limited resources.

“By working together with our northern neighbours, we can create an economic powerhouse that can compete alongside London and the South East for global business, investment and jobs.

Arif Ahmad, PwC’s senior partner in Leeds said: “The Northern Futures summit has highlighted the demand for devolution across the North from businesses, LEPs, education institutions and the local community.

“Decentralisation is critical to rebalancing the UK’s economy. Too much centralisation leads to unbalanced growth and creates economic issues of its own.

“The UK is the fifth most centralised economy in the EU and is almost four times more centralised than the EU average.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .