Response to IPPR North Northern Powerhouse research

Think tank analysis reflects on five years of Northern Powerhouse agenda

21 June 2019

Responding to IPPR North’s analysis of progress in delivering the Northern Powerhouse, Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leader of Bradford Council, said:

“While positive steps have been taken to address the economic challenges facing the North, this analysis underlines the need to dramatically increase the pace and scale of investment if we are to truly rebalance the economy and raise living standards for all our communities.

“As a starting point, the Government must recommit to delivering HS2 in full and fund Northern Powerhouse Rail, with a line going through Bradford city centre, as fundamental building blocks of the 21st Century transport system the North needs to unlock its full economic potential.”

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of the NP11 Board and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said:

“This analysis rightly points out the scale of the challenge we face to reverse the impacts of decades of underinvestment but we also need to focus on the scale of the opportunity the North presents to UK plc.

“By investing in better transport and digital infrastructure, skills and support for business across the North, we can create exceptional growth which delivers both a higher standard of living for our communities and a positive contribution to the UK economy as a whole.”

The IPPR North analysis can be found here.