Press Story
Former Treasury Minister Lord Jim O’Neill leads calls for transformative ‘Great Northern Rail’ investment
A decade of broken promises has been laid bare today as a leading think tank reveals how the disparity in transport spending between the North and London has ballooned over the last ten years.
In shocking new analysis, IPPR North and IPPR have revealed that if the north of England had received the same per person spending as the capital, it would have received £140 billion more – enough to build seven Elizabeth Lines.
Their independent analysis of Treasury figures lays bare in black and white the extent of the UK’s transport investment divide under the previous government. Over the decade to 2022/23, each year:
- London received £1,183 per person
- The North saw £486 per person
- The North East saw £430 per person
- The North West saw £540 per person
- Yorkshire and Humber saw £441 per person
- The UK as a whole received £603 per person
- And England as a saw whole £592 per person
The analysis shows that the Midlands fared even worse – receiving just £455 per person – with the East Midlands receiving the lowest investment of every nation and region of the UK at just £355 per person.
Researchers say the £140 billion missed out on by the North between 2009/10 and 2022/23 is worth more than the entirety of capital spending on transport in the region since the turn of the millennium, which IPPR North estimate to have been £83 billion since 1999/2000.
In response to this news, IPPR North and IPPR have joined forces with Lord Jim O’Neill to call for ‘Great Northern Rail’ - a plan to create and improve a connected rail network across the North, following cash for city regions announced last week. From Liverpool to Hull and Newcastle, the network builds on Mayors’ plans for a credible strategy that could unlock a wide range of economic development and housing growth opportunities - generating regional growth to drive national growth.
Acknowledging that this won’t create a “quick fix”, but long-term transformational change, they say Treasury should take this “big bet” to set the North up for a better future than its recent past.
Former Treasury Minister and Chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Lord Jim O’Neill said:
“Good governance requires the guts to take a long-term approach, not just quick fixes. So the Chancellor is right in her focus on the UK’s long-standing supply-side weaknesses – namely our woeful productivity and weak private and public investment.
“Backing major infrastructure is the right call, and this Spending Review is the right time for the Chancellor to place a big bet on northern growth and begin to close this investment chasm. But it’s going to take more than commitments alone – she'll need to set out a transparent framework for delivery.”
Marcus Johns, Senior Research Fellow at IPPR North commented:
“Today’s figures are concrete proof that promises made to the North over the last decade were hollow. It was a decade of deceit.
“We are 124 years on from the end of Queen Victoria’s reign – yet the North is still running on infrastructure built during her rein – while our transport chasm widens.
“This isn’t London bashing - Londoners absolutely deserve investment. But £1,182 per person for London and £486 for northerners? The numbers don’t lie – this isn’t right. This government have begun to restore fairness with their big bet on transport cash for city leaders. They should continue on this journey to close this investment gap in the upcoming Spending Review and decades ahead”.
ENDS
Contact: Rosie Lockwood, Head of Media and Advocacy for IPPR North, on 07585772633 or r.lockwood@ippr.org.
Notes:
IPPR North senior research fellow Marcus Johns and IPPR North Director Zoë Billingham are available for interview.
Copies of ‘On track to prosperity: Great Northern Rail’ are available on request. It will become available on the IPPR North website at 00:01 on Monday 9th June at: https://www.ippr.org/articles/on-track-to-prosperity
IPPR North is the leading think-tank for the north of England, developing bold ideas for a stronger economy and prosperous places and people. For more information, visit ippr.org/north.
This analysis forms part of IPPR North’s Regional Growth Programme.
IPPR (the Institute for Public Policy Research) is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society. We are researchers, communicators, and policy experts creating tangible progressive change, and turning bold ideas into common sense realities. Working across the UK, IPPR, IPPR North, and IPPR Scotland are deeply connected to the people of our nations and regions, and the issues our communities face. We have helped shape national conversations and progressive policy change for more than 30 years. From making the early case for the minimum wage and tackling regional inequality, to proposing a windfall tax on energy companies, IPPR’s research and policy work has put forward practical solutions for the crises facing society.
