MPs vow to band together to ‘power up North’
A ‘once-in-a-generation’ chance, Minister insists
THE NORTH of England’s MPs have warned that they will “hunt like a pack” in the new Parliament as it is being billed as a once-in-ageneration opportunity to tackle glaring regional inequalities.
Conservative MPs scored a landslide victory in the North in last week’s General Election, taking nine seats off Labour in Yorkshire and the Humber alone, and the focus has now shifted on to how the Government can maintain the backing of voters who lent their support to the Tories.
Already mooted is up to £80bn of infrastructure funding in the North, and the idea of holding Cabinet meetings in a northern town or city every other week.
However, Northern Powerhouse Minister Jake Berry said: “This is the North’s moment – a once-in-a-generation opportunity to power up the North and to make every arm of government work for the people of the North.”
Kevin Hollinrake, the Conservative MP for Thirsk and Malton, warned it was key that his party offered more.
He said: “There’s no debate in my experience knocking on doors that people do have confidence in Boris, they did not like Jeremy Corbyn, they did want Brexit. But we know some of those factors won’t be around in five years’ time, so those votes are borrowed and if we want them to keep them – which we do – we will have to have some measures in place.”
Robert Goodwill, the Tory MP for Scarborough and Whitby, suggested organisations such as the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) could move to the North.
He added: “What would be good to see is the decentralisation of central government, so why don’t we move IPSA out to the North. I’ve never had a face-toface with IPSA, so why shouldn’t they be out in Redcar?”
It comes as Henri Murison, the director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the Tories must put Brexit aside and focus on more local issues.
He said: “We expect key decisions on HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail to be made in a budget early next year – questions such as whether to build the route in full and a new city centre station in Bradford will demonstrate whether the Prime Minister is truly serious about the North beyond the issue of Brexit in many communities like Scunthorpe or Stockton.”
Mr Berry said: “Our central mission in the North will be to massively upgrade transport infrastructure, sort out Northern Rail, devolve even more power and money to towns and cities, and to close the opportunity gap between North and South.”
He claimed the sheer number of new Tory MPs who have come from the North was central to the drive, and added: “Northern MPs are going to hunt like a pack in this new Parliament. Millions of Northerners put their faith in the Conservative Party last week and we will do everything we possibly can to repay people’s confidence.”