Boris Johnson buries hatchet with ex-rival George Osborne by vowing to turbocharge his Northern Powerhouse
BORIS JOHNSON formally buried the hatchet with George Osborne last night after vowing to turbocharge his rival’s Northern Powerhouse.
Ahead of a visit to South Yorkshire on Friday, the PM vowed to unleash new investment and appoint a series of new ‘Metro Mayors’ across the north of England.
In another pitch for Labour voters, he also plans to create a new Northern Powerhouse growth body – promising to transform the region in a way “the railways did two centuries ago”
It came as Mr Johnson yesterday insisted he was serious about building a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland – saying it would “only” cost £15 billion.
George Osborne launched the Northern Powerhouse project to revive the North in a pre-election pitch five years ago.
The former Chancellor and Mr Johnson slugged it out for the Tory leadership for years before the EU Referendum.
Mr Osborne’s allies long-accused Theresa May of neglecting his pet project.
But on entering Downing Street in July, Mr Johnson promised to “level-up” and unlock the potential of every corner of the UK through investment in transport and broadband.
In comments released last night, the PM said: “We are going to maximise the power of the North. And we are going to make sure that it is people here who are in control over the things that matter to them.
“If we succeed in levelling up opportunity across our country, and if we truly put the power in your hands, then I believe you will do for the North – and for our whole country – what the railways did two centuries ago.
“That is the true potential of this Northern Powerhouse Partnership. And this is a Government that will back you to deliver it.”
Lord Jim O’Neill – Northern Powerhouse vice-chair and former George Osborne adviser – last night welcomed the move. He told The Sun: “The more he says about the Northern Powerhouse the more pressure there is for some of it to be real.”
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