IT appears that £73m promised by the last Conservative government to County Durham for it to spend on its most pressing transport issues is disappearing before our very eyes.
It was a bonus that came from the scrapping of the northern leg of HS2. The then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the HS2 money would be better spent in local communities rather than on one big infrastructure project.
But Labour seems to be coming to the conclusion that the £73m never existed. It was just a figment of the Conservatives’ imagination, a part of the £22bn black hole. As it never existed, it cannot be found to give to County Durham.
Needless to say, and whoever is to blame, this is extremely disappointing. Levelling up was all about giving parts of the country, like County Durham, a fair crack of the whip, and the figures show that throughout the Tory years, the regions suffered desperately unfair transport spending. For example, in 2011, when London was enjoying major expenditure because of the Olympics, spending per head on transport in the capital was £2,731 and in the North East, it was just £5. By 2023, spending in London per head was £1,272 and in the North East £502 and Yorkshire £418. It was hoped levelling up would address these anomalies, but it looks more and more like a sham.
What a way to run a country! The county council says its schemes “are ready for the green light”. Preparatory work has been done and yet now the money is now disappearing, even though no one doubts that spending on transport scheme boosts quality of local lives, boosts the local economy, boosts access to education, boosts the environment.
If the Conservatives couldn’t make levelling up a reality, surely Labour can see how important it is for the cake to be sliced fairly into their heartlands.
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