Leader of Stockport Liberal Democrat Group, Cllr Mark Hunter, has described the Northern Powerhouse as “dead in the water” and challenged central government to better demonstrate their commitment to investment in the North West.
Speaking at the recent Liberal Democrat annual conference at Brighton, Cllr Hunter claimed that because the Northern Powerhouse was originally the creation of George Osborne, the current Conservative government are paying only lip service to the idea of more power for the region.
“The Northern Powerhouse exists now in name only to all intents and purposes,” said Cllr Hunter. “It is little more than a gesture to help a few North West Tory MPs to hold on to their seats at the next general election.
“Transport is a clear example of its failure. We have just seen a summer of chaos on our local and regional rail services with no practical oversight or intention from central government. Thousands of rail users have been inconvenienced and yet the minister does nothing. It is simply unacceptable that so many local people continue to struggle with over-crowded and unreliable rail services.
“The time for government intervention is long overdue,” Cllr Hunter concluded.
