Northern England’s newspapers have jointly demanded the Government stops treating the region as an “after-thought”, asking for devolution to help “turbo-charge the North’s economy”.
Some 33 newspapers and websites are urging Britain’s main political parties to “close the north-south divide”, saying social, health and economic inequalities have widened under successive Labour and Conservative governments.
In the campaign labelled “Power Up the North”, a joint editorial states: “The case for fundamental change is now unanswerable and our political leaders must commit to real change.
“Every day of dither and delay risks leaving the north at an even greater disadvantage.”
The case for fundamental change is now unanswerable and our political leaders must commit to real change
It called for a “sea-change in the way our country is run, after decades of being treated as an after-thought, if at all”.
Titles including the Manchester Evening News, Newcastle Chronicle, Liverpool Echo, the Northern Echo, and Yorkshire Post used their front pages to broadcast the message.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “This feels increasingly like a watershed moment. The North doesn’t just need its fair share of investment but also substantial new devolved powers.”
Demands of the campaign include the following:
– Delivering a fundamental shift in decision-making out of London, giving devolved powers and self-determination to people in the north.
– Funding to be committed immediately to make the Northern Powerhouse Rail a national priority.
– Making additional investment available for the north’s schools, colleges and universities to boost skills training.
– Setting out a programme to build a new generation of social housing and affordable homes.
Yorkshire Post editor James Mitchinson tweeted the editorials were “an Open Letter to decision-makers in Westminster from newspapers across the North of England on behalf of over 15m people who are sick and tired of being short changed”.