North of England: Infrastructure Spending

Imran Ahmad Khan Excerpts

Wednesday 25th November 2020 Westminster Hall

[Imran Ahmad Khan (Wakefield) (Con)]

Thank you, Mr Gray. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Damien Moore) on securing this important debate. In 2019, we Conservatives stood on a manifesto that pledged new infrastructure projects to help reduce the disparity between the north and south of England. Inequality between the north and the south has long existed, but has grown exponentially over the past two decades. In 2004, London’s economy was the same size as that of the north. As of 2020, London is a quarter larger, according to the think-tank Onward.

Her Majesty’s Government have since committed to a significant number of projects that seek to fulfil their manifesto pledges and reverse the historic imbalance between north and south. To date, a £5 billion package of new funding to overhaul bus and cycle links for every region outside London has been established. Northern Powerhouse Rail and the upgrade to the trans-Pennine route will serve to benefit regional interconnectivity, which is vital to collaboration and commerce between key northern cities.

On 18 November, the Prime Minister announced the Government’s 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution, which includes commitments to key infrastructure areas, notably public transport and clean energy. Today, the Chancellor will unveil the national infrastructure project, which will provide billions to improve transportation connectivity, improve infrastructure such as flood defences, and bolster fibre broadband in our digital infrastructure. It is vital that the funding is used to help areas that have long felt left behind by successive Governments, to boost local economies and to create new sustainable jobs. Conservative MPs elected to represent northern seats such as my own must hold the Government’s feet to the fire and help them to realise their splendid vision for the north to ensure that our constituencies receive tangible and transformative change from these investment plans.

However, the state should not always be the driving force behind infrastructure projects. Incentivising private firms, which understand market demand and consumers far better than the state should be the primary means of levelling up the entire United Kingdom, especially the north. We should appreciate how Heathrow terminal 5 was entirely funded by private investment. It serves millions of passengers, providing hundreds of thousands of flights each year.

We have reached the current stage only because of the failed policies of successive Governments of all stripes, who have created and entrenched a national divide through London-centric policies. Thus, a severe market failure requires rectification. Once we emerge from the covid-19 pandemic and focus on resetting our economy, ensuring that every region of the United Kingdom thrives must be central to policy making. I am confident that, together with my fellow Conservative parliamentary colleagues, we will keep holding the Government to account and ensure that they deliver this exciting and welcome promise for our constituents and the entire kingdom.