Power Up The North: Northern communities 'won't accept being treated as second class'

The Star last week put its weight to the Power Up The North campaign, which through the collective voice – and strength – of the regions titles urges politicians to spell out how they intend to narrow the North-South divide.

The campaign has already won support from business leaders and politicians in the region and today David Baines, who took the reins at the town hall last month, became the first prominent St Helens figure to back Power Up The North.

He said the campaign could act as a wake-up call at Westminster that Northern communities "won't accept being treated as second class".

David Baines is the leader of St Helens Council

Cllr Baines said: "The North of England currently suffers in comparison to London and the South East when it comes to investment and attention from central government.

"Under the Tories, and despite all the talk of a 'Northern Powerhouse', boroughs like St Helens have seen funding for essential local services crash, and our communities suffer as a result.

"The Power Up The North campaign should be an important wake-up call for the government in Westminster that we won't sit back and accept being treated as second-class.

"Give us in the North power through devolution, and give us the funding to back it up, and we can regenerate our infrastructure and revitalise our communities."

Last week the Star joined titles such as the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo, the Yorkshire Post and our sister title the Warrington Guardian in warning of the Parliamentary paralysis created by Brexit and how "every day of dither and delay risks leaving the North at an even greater disadvantage".

Star editor Andrew Kilmurray said: "Decisions need to be made and new infrastructure built so this region can attract national and international investment.

"There must be a new commitment by all parties to put this region first and start reversing decades of under-investment in key services."

The campaign calls on each party – and leadership nominee in the Tory party’s case – to give formal backing to the Northern Powerhouse policy agenda and set out detailed plans to:

• Put full weight behind a bespoke Industrial Strategy for the North of England to enable every sector of the economy, from manufacturing to farming, to flourish;
• Overhaul the region’s road and rail network as a part of a wider environmental plan, with devolved funding and powers;
• undertake to make Northern Powerhouse Rail a national priority;
• Deliver a fundamental shift in decision-making out of London, giving devolved powers and self-determination to people in the North; make additional investment available for the North’s schools, colleges and universities to boost skills training;
• Set out a programme to build a new generation of social housing, and affordable homes;
• accelerate investment in the North’s digital infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, and support creative industries
• commit that the Government’s ‘shared prosperity fund’, intended to replace EU structural funding, be fully devolved in long-term tranches to enable strategic decisions to be taken here rather than areas having to bid – piecemeal – for small amounts.

The titles also hope the next PM - and future leaders - will elevate the post of Northern Powerhouse Minister to Cabinet status, with full powers, as a clear signal that they intend to take this region seriously.

Though not exhaustive, this plan is in addition to each party explaining, clearly and candidly, their approach to Brexit, HS2 and key public services, like the NHS, social care, education and policing, which all matter to the 15 million people who live and work here.