I can’t start this column in any other way than mentioning the amazing visit we had on Sunday from Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his wife. The third visit by a PM to our borough since I got elected, and Rishi’s second in just six months, it really does show how central we are in Government thinking.
And Sunday also brought major news with the announcement of a further £20 million of investment in our borough from Government. This additional £20 million will help us take the regeneration already happening to the next level and, because it isn’t tied to a single project that the council has put forward, residents’ views can and must be listened to. That will be my clear message to the new Town Deal Board that will be established, so keep watching this space. I’ll keep you updated!
Then it was on to Conservative Party Conference where one story dominated the media narrative… HS2.
It has always frustrated me that when the national media have decided a politician needs to decide on something, that’s discussion over. They use spin and bluster to denigrate any politician who refuses to be drawn into their narrative, their timelines, and their lines. I take a different view, and I’m glad the Prime Minister does too. Politicians should take time to consider issues like HS2 in the round. And when the PM did that, looking at the other schemes that could be funded, he came to what I think is a reasonable decision.
Phase 1 of HS2, which is significantly constructed, will come into operation as planned. But Phase 2, which hasn’t been constructed or all land even acquired, will be scrapped. That means high speed trains still running between the North and London, with reduced journey times, but tens of billions of pounds can also be channelled into northern transport infrastructure.
When I look around Burnley & Padiham I see our needs as being better roads; keeping bus fares low and affordable; and having accessible trains for our journeys to other towns & cities across the region. This delivers all of that. The £2 bus fare retained, £3.3 billion more for potholes and roads in the North, building Northern Powerhouse Rail, and tens of millions more for Lancashire’s transport needs.
Cities have, for too long, taken the lion’s share of transport funding and that has held back economic growth across areas like ours. With the facts having changed, and the cost having spiralled, this is our chance to correct that.
