'More to come', Rachel Reeves says after Andy Burnham demand
The Chancellor was in Rochdale to announce £2.5bn for new buses, tram stops and a Metrolink extension in Greater Manchester
Rachel Reeves has promised there's 'more to come' after announcing £2.5bn for new buses, tram stops and a Metrolink extension.
Speaking in Rochdale this morning (June 4), the Chancellor revealed more than £15bn of funding for local transport projects across the North of England and the Midlands. This includes 1,000 more electric buses, tram-trains in Rochdale and a new tram line to Stockport.
Andy Burnham welcomed the news, but continued his demands for a new railway line to be built between Manchester and Liverpool.
It follows reports that the government has set aside 'billions of pounds' for the project as part of its spending review next week.
But the Greater Manchester mayor said he is simply seeking a 'commitment' that the new line will be operational by the 2030s.
Mr Burnham told the Manchester Evening News that he is hoping there will be 'several millions' set aside to develop the plans.
It comes after the M.E.N. joined forces with the Liverpool ECHO to back the project which could help boost the economy by £90bn.
Ms Reeves refused to commit to the project today (June 4), but promised more announcements in the spending review next week.
She said: "There'll be more to come next week on a whole wider set of investments in transport, in both road and rail but also in housing, in energy and in digital infrastructure and also support for our towns and our local places, all of which I know, because I speak to them regularly, are really important to all of our local leaders including here in Greater Manchester."
The transport settlements announced today (June 4) gives mayors billions of pounds to spend on local transport projects.
The funding was originally announced by former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak when he cancelled the Northern leg of HS2 in 2023.
On top of the £36bn saved by scrapping Manchester's high-speed rail link, Mr Sunak also promised £17bn for a new line to Liverpool.
However, Ms Reeves told the M.E.N. that Mr Sunak's promises were 'shallow and hollow', insisting that the money was never there.
Last month, Mr Burnham presented proposals to cabinet ministers and senior civil servants for the new railway line which would connect Manchester to Liverpool via Warrington and the two cities' airports with express half-hour trains running every 10 minutes.
Local leaders have also been lobbying the government to build an underground station at Piccadilly as part of the project.
Asked how much the whole project would cost, Mr Burnham £17bn is the 'starting point' - but all he needs for now is 'several millions'.
He said: "The commitment that I'm really after is that this railway will be built and operational in the 2030s.
"That's the main commitment I want because if we get that commitment, we'll start putting in place the masterplan and the mayoral development corporations along that line now.
"We'll start the housing growth going right now. We'll get the airport working to build its infrastructure to support this right now. That's what we want from the Chancellor and all of that is really, really achievable."