North ‘will get £2,300 less per person for transport than Londoners’

The North is set to lose out compared to London when it comes to transport funding, according to a report.

The Government plans to spend almost three times more per head on London, a think-tank said.

It works out at an average £2,300 less per person in transport spending for the North – so London is getting three times more.

That figure rises to seven times more per person than in Yorkshire and the Humber or the North East, according to the IPPR North research based on Government figures and published on Monday.

Its analysis said the capital will receive £3,636 in transport spending per person, while the North will receive £1,247 in planned spending.

The study also suggested that the spending gap had widened over the last decade, with the boost in London being 2.5 times more than in the North.

The North of England is set to receive £2,389 less per person than London on transport.

Read our new independent analysis of regional transport spending here. ⤵️https://t.co/9Qg4StImgd pic.twitter.com/lW3QG6gnQc

— IPPR North (@IPPRNorth) August 19, 2019

IPPR researcher Luke Raikes said: ‘These figures show that the Prime Minister must urgently follow through on his promises to invest in northern transport infrastructure and devolve power to the North’s leaders.

‘The Northern Powerhouse agenda could benefit people across the whole country. Northern transport infrastructure is a national priority.’

Shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald said: ‘The North is held back by Government under-investment in transport and a lack of powers over public transport, including poor rail connectivity and cuts to bus services.

‘Labour will build a Crossrail for the North and deliver powers and funding for bus services to close the North-South divide in transport.’

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said the report should make ’embarrassing reading for the Government’.

He said: ‘In the five years since they first promised us a Northern Powerhouse, the transport spending gap between North and South has widened and is set to get even wider over the next decade.

We hear a lot of rhetoric from the Government on the North. But @IPPRNorth today reveals the reality. Nothing much has changed. Unless the new PM delivers soon on his commitments, the Northern Powerhouse will go down as a giant political con. https://t.co/K0jWXFlpBA

— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) August 19, 2019

‘So far, Government promises to the North have proved to be about as reliable as our trains. To be fair, the new Prime Minister has recognised our frustration and made new commitments. It is essential that he now backs up his words with action.

‘As Mayor of London, he successfully argued for new funding and powers over transport for the Capital. As Prime Minister, he must now deliver exactly the same for the North of England.’

A Government spokeswoman said: ‘We do not recognise these misleading figures – we’re spending more on transport per person in the North than anywhere else.

‘We are committed to reversing decades of under-investment in northern transport including providing a record £13 billion by 2020 to improve transport networks in the North.

‘As the Prime Minister recently set out, this Government wants to drive growth across the North including through Northern Powerhouse Rail, giving local leaders greater powers and investing £3.6 billion in towns across England.’