Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised to give control of the region’s railways “back to the North” – but warned local leaders they will have to fund some of the improvements they want to make.
Mr Johnson was speaking at the Convention of the North, a gathering of business and political leaders from across the region being held in Rotherham - and where his speech was interrupted by a protester heckling him over his prorogation of Parliament.
The Prime Minister said he wanted to improve the economy of the North by improving funding for further education colleges, speeding up broadband upgrades and investing in better transport.
But he warned that while there would be “generous capital funding” for rail infrastructure in the North, local leaders would also have to find their own ways of paying for many of the improvements they want to see.
The Prime Minister’s announcement received a cautious welcome from Northern leaders, though they said they wanted to see the detail behind the announcement to ensure they had the ability to properly improve services.
The announcement came after years of increasing frustration in the North at the state of rail services, which many feel are holding back the region’s economy.
Mr Johnson said: “I’m announcing my intention to give the railways of the North back to the people of the North, back to the places where they were born, back to Stockton and Darlington, back to Liverpool and Manchester.
“On local lines in metropolitan areas we will give greater control over fares, service patterns, rolling stock and stations.
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"Outside of the combined authority areas, I want communities to take control too.
"That might be through county councils taking on similar roles for stations or branch lines or it might be transferring branch lines or rail services to community rail partnerships owned by local people.
“As you have asked, we will give you far greater control over your budgets. But as well as taking power you have to take responsibility.
"You have to take the heat as well as the credit, just like the mayor has to do in London.
“We will be generous on capital spending but we won’t be able to afford everything that everyone wants. So choices will have to be made.
"If people want more than they can afford, they will have to raise the money themselves.”
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham welcomed the opportunity to take on more responsibility for local transport services, while Newcastle City Council leader Nick Forbes said the Prime Minister had “re-nationalised Northern Rail by default.”
Earlier sessions at the Convention of the North – which also covered issues such as skills, innovation and bringing together the North to speak with one voice to the Government – had seen repeated calls for “transformational levels of investment” to level the playing field with other parts of the country.
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Mr Johnson also outlined plans for a Northern Powerhouse growth body, and when questioned by the audience, re-iterated his desire for the 海角视频 to leave the EU on October 31.
He said he was “cautiously optimistic” that a Brexit deal could be reached, but his speech had earlier been interrupted by a heckler demanding he return to Westminster to debate Brexit with MPs.