Harrogate MP says he is 'stunned' by latest public transport funding disaster for the North
Harrogate and Knaresborough MP Tom Gordon has hit out at the Labour Government for ‘axing investment’ that would benefit Northern commuters.
Speaking in Parliament, the Lib Dem MP referred to the billions of pounds of investment in Northern transport infrastructure were promised by the previous Government to make up for their decision to axe the Northern legs of the HS2 high-speed rail link.
Mr Gordon asked the Government when the North could expect to see this cash.
In response to the Harrogate MP’s question, Heidi Alexander, Secretary of State for Transport, said that the money would not be coming, labelled the previous Tory Goverment’s proposed investment in northern transport as “fantasy money”.
But the Harrogate MP pointed out, at the same time as the North was losing out on public transport investment, the Labour Government was spending huge sums on infrastructure projects in the South.
Mr Gordon said: “I was stunned by the Transport Secretary’s answer.
"It seems like local taxpayers continue to fund infrastructure projects in the South, while getting very little in return.
"The Tories let down the North again and again and now Labour are just playing to the same tune.
“Local people expected that when HS2 was cancelled the promises made to improve Northern Transport infrastructure would be delivered.
"Yet again the North has been neglected and it’s just not good enough.
“Whether it’s Labour or Tory, we hear big promises before elections and yet time and time again and we are let down.
“The Government says it wants to see growth in the North but won’t deliver the cash need to kick-start our economy.
"We shouldn’t be forced to put up with Victorian era infrastructure in the 21st century.”
The Harrogate MP added that he was disappointed that the Transport Secretary’s comments had come hot on the heels of the infrastructure announcement by Rachel Reeves, which primarily focussed on reviving schemes that should have long since been implemented, whilst prioritising the South of England.
The previous decade saw London receiving seven times the amount of transport infrastructure per person than the Yorkshire and Humber area.