Andy Burnham has pledged to revive the ill-fated second leg of HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester if he becomes Prime Minister. The Greater Manchester Mayor said he would revive the northern leg of the late, over-budget scheme, arguing that the "lack of high-quality rail infrastructure in the north of England holds back its growth potential."
Funding Proposal
Speaking to the iPaper about his plans, Burnham, Labour's candidate at Thursday's Makerfield by-election, stated: "If you put that infrastructure in, it lays the foundations for higher growth." He emphasised that he has seen the benefits from expansion of the travel system in his own region. Burnham proposed financing the Manchester section, which was estimated to cost £36bn when scrapped, by adopting a 'Crossrail style' funding approach. This would involve sharing costs between national government, local authorities, and beneficiaries such as local businesses and property developers.
Burnham explained: "There's a cleverer way of funding this. If you go back, I put the funding package together for Crossrail and it was actually a package that did have contributions from business and residents. You don't take all the windfall off the landholder, but you share the proceeds of that windfall, and the increase in land values created by the infrastructure is captured to pay back the cost of the infrastructure. So why shouldn't we fund infrastructure in this country in that way?"
Devolved Approach
Burnham described his proposals as "a much more devolved approach to running this country," saying "you cannot get growth in a top-down, silo-driven model of government." His remarks followed reports suggesting an ambitious scheme to bring energy and water under public ownership would form a key element of his plans should he become Prime Minister. Sources close to Burnham indicated he intended to nationalise several UK utilities if he entered Number 10. According to The Guardian, associates of the mayor confirmed he was 'serious' about assuming control of 'essentials of life' through a ten-year programme that would seek to potentially lower bills for customers and enhance service delivery.
One source stated: "When Andy says he wants the public to have control over 'the essentials of life', we should believe him. He is completely serious."
