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by Lib Dem team on 3 July, 2015
Greater Manchester Liberal Democrats are giving their support to the Manchester Evening News’ #NorthernPowercut campaign, calling for the government to prioritise funding the electrification of the Manchester to Leeds railway line ahead of putting more money into London with Crossrail 2.
Cllr Sue Derbyshire, Lib Dem leader of Stockport Council, said “With the Lib Dems in the previous government, ministers decided it was the right thing to invest in these major, and much needed, infrastructure projects. As soon as the Lib Dems are gone, Osborne has started back-peddling and it’s the schemes in the North that are being scrapped.”
Cllr Howard Sykes, leader of the Lib Dem group on Oldham Council and member of the TfGM Committee, said “A failure to invest in electrification will mean that the much-vaunted Northern Powerhouse will be held back as we shall lack the modern rail infrastructure that is needed. It is a joke that you can be in London nearly as quickly as the short journey from Manchester to Leeds takes on old rolling stock.”
The Northern Powerhouse needs to be more than just a slogan – it’s about making the transport links between the great cities of the north good enough that they can effectively work together and start to attract the sort of inward investment that London does, leading to more jobs and more prosperity.
Far better to scrap HS2 and use some of the enormous cost released to restore, enhance and develop our ‘classic’ main line and local rail systems.