The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says that if travel investment in the North had matched the amount for London, it would have had £140bn more between 2009/10 - 2022/23.
By conducting analysis of Treasure figures, IPPR and IPPR North were able to show that, across this period, London received £1,183 per person, whereas the North only received £486 per person. It's analysis also showed that the amount varied across the North, with the North East seeing £430 per person and the North West receiving £540 per person.
The data also indicated that the Midlands saw even less investment, with the region as a whole receiving £455 per person and the East Midlands seeing just £355 per person – the lowest amount of any area in the UK.
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.’
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.’
Image credit: Shutterstock @Janaka Dharmasena
