Boris Johnson pledges £ 3.6bn boost for poor cities | Policy

In his first important speech as Prime Minister, Boris Johnson promised to give £ 3.6 billion to underprivileged towns as he sought to deflect Brexit's political focus. on the national agenda.

The conservative leader said the proposal, which will initially support 100 cities, will help improve transportation, broadband and cultural infrastructure. The pledge, announced Saturday in Manchester, is part of Johnson's strategy to "turbocharge" regional growth.

He also offered to finance a new high-speed rail line between Leeds and Manchester, but his opponents claimed that it was a warmed promise announced for the first time there. is five years old. Johnson supports the trans-Pennine transportation link, which would reduce journey times on the 36-mile road between the two cities from 50 minutes to less than half an hour.

Johnson said, "I want to be the premier who does with Northern Railhouse Rail what we did with Crossrail in London. And today, I will make my commitment to this vision a reality by committing to finance the road from Leeds to Manchester. "

In front of a crowd of 100 people at the city's Science and Industry Museum, Johnson explained that it would be up to local people to agree on the exact proposal they wanted. The officials were instructed to "speed up" their work on the plans to be ready for an agreement in the fall, he said.

Detailed plans for the proposed route will be released in the fall after a review of HS2, Downing Street announced.

Johnson said he wanted to "give some pace" to the project to "unlock jobs and boost growth".

But Andy McDonald, secretary of Ghost Transport, said he was "not convinced" that Johnson could improve rail services given his track record.

"This project has been announced many times by the Conservatives," he said. "Given Boris Johnson's staggering failure to build a bridge over the Thames and an estuary airport, I'm not sure he will be able to provide better rail service between Leeds and Manchester.

"What we really need is the Crossrail of Labor for the north, from Liverpool to Hull and to the northeast, to unlock the economic potential of the region. Just modernizing the rail link between Leeds and Manchester – the same distance as the central line of the London Underground – will not allow that.

"And I want it to start now, with improvements that can be made in the short term, not just big engineering projects that will take years."

George Osborne announced for the first time his high-speed railway project between Manchester and Leeds in 2014 as part of Chancellor's "Northern Powerhouse" strategy.

Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham praised the funding promise in an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today program, but said: "The North Central Rail is more than Manchester-Leeds. It is connecting all the north and you have to create a new line rather than a modernization, and I would certainly say that.

"It has been just five years since George Osborne came to Manchester and promised something very similar to what we are about to hear today, and during this period, during these years. five years, rail services here have been reversed, so we will be looking very closely to see this announcement followed by concrete actions. "

Henri Murison, Director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, an independent organization representing the voices of local business and municipal leaders, said, "This is a decisive moment for the North: the concept of the North Power Plant is only to connect cities and towns in the north to boost productivity.

"Northern Powerhouse Partnership has strongly advocated for the rebalancing of our economy and it is encouraging to see that the first major political announcement of the new Prime Minister is to benefit from the North, at the height of the commitment of companies that are already investing right here."

Judith Blake, President of Leeds City Council, said, "The North rail network is the key to our vision of a modern and reliable transportation system with shorter travel times, additional capacity and reliability. increased. I hope the government will now work with us to expedite delivery of this project. "