Chancellor sets a vision for a northern “powerhouse” of the British economy.
23 Jun 2014 01:18 PM
Chancellor George
Osborne gave a keynote
speech today (23 June 2014), speaking of his vision to see
Britain’s great northern cities be a northern “powerhouse” of
the British economy.
Speaking in the Power Hall of
Manchester’s Museum of Science and Industry, the Chancellor pointed to
evidence that the government’s long-term economic plan is delivering a
recovery everywhere. But while the cities of the North are individually strong,
they are not collectively strong enough. He said “We need a Northern
Powerhouse. Not one city, but a collection of cities - sufficiently close to
each that combined they can take on the world.”
Read the
Chancellor’s speech in full.
The Chancellor set out the four
ingredients to address this issue, by “joining our northern cities
together – not physically, or into some artificial political construct
– but by providing the transport connections they need; by backing their
universities; by backing their creative clusters; and giving them the local
power and control that a powerhouse economy needs.”
The Chancellor specifically
identified connectivity between Northern cities as a big issue that is holding
back potential. To complement the investment that the government is already
undertaking across the North in the Northern Rail Hub, Strategic Road Network
and High Speed 2, he wants the UK to think big.
He said: “Today I want us
to start thinking about whether to build a new high speed rail connection
east-west from Manchester to Leeds. Based on the existing rail route, but
speeded up with new tunnels and infrastructure. A third high speed railway for
Britain.”
The Chancellor asked that this
proposal should feed in to David Higgins’ review of the second phase of
HS2.
The north is blessed with
outstanding universities that are leading the way in terms of cooperation
between academic and industry. The government wants to see science here turned
into products here - and into jobs and growth here. The government has created
the new catapult technology centres and has increased science investment in
every year of this parliament. That’s £7 billion for scientific
investment in the next parliament alone.
Allied to the investment in
science and transport, the Chancellor spoke of the need to actively build on
the north’s world-class arts and culture scene so that innovators and
entrepreneurs continue to be attracted to its creative, cultural, beautiful
places.
The final thing you need in a
Powerhouse is, of course Power. Citing the benefits that he feels London has
received from having a strong, recognisable city leader.
The Chancellor said: “I
want to start the conversation, and put the offer on the table – serious
devolution of powers and budgets for any city that wants to move to a new model
of governance – and have an elected Mayor. A Mayor for Manchester. A
Mayor for Leeds. With powers similar to the Mayor of
London.”
Summing up, the Chancellor
said:
What I’ve set out today is
a vision of a Northern Powerhouse – not to rival the South, but to be its
brother in arms as we fight for Britain’s share of the global economy.
Let’s bring our Northern cities together, so they’re bigger and
better than anyone can be alone. It won’t happen overnight –
it’s a long-term plan for a country serious about its long-term economic
future. And I promise you this – I will work with anyone in any political
party in any of these great cities to make this Northern Powerhouse a reality.
For this plan is bigger than any one of us – and it’s worth it for
us all.
The Chancellor’s speech
has been welcomed by a series of key figures:
Sir David
Higgins:
HS2 will be a strategic
intervention in the life of country, helping to re-balance our economy by
relieving pressure in the South and better connecting the North, so it is much
more than just a railway project. I am heartened by the energy and commitment
with which Parliament on all sides, the Government and local authorities are
seizing that opportunity to think more broadly and strategically about our
future and how to realise the full potential that HS2 offers.
Jim O’Neill, chair of
Cities Commission:
This is a really important
speech by the Chancellor opening up the path to genuine devolution of power and
ideas to our northern cities and in my role as Chair of the independent Cities
Commission, I welcome his boldness in calling for many of these developments,
ranging from faster , more effective communications between key located cities
that will allow them to operate as large economic hub, to encouraging our best
Universities to reach for grander ideas to benefit from their ongoing
leadership in scientific research. These are all areas that our research and
evidence building at the Commission are necessary to not only give more
balanced growth, but would lay the groundwork for possibly boosting the
country’s growth potential in the long term.
Lord Heseltine:
Let us now use economic recovery
to spread wealth to every corner of our country. Nowhere is better placed to
lead the rebalancing of the UK than the North. The combined might of great
cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds and the combined talent of the
people who live there must have the chance to lead this vital part of our
country as earlier generations so proudly did in earlier times of British
excellence.