“The only reason the northern powerhouse worked is that you had George Osborne at Treasury driving it,” he said. “Now when I travel to China or wherever, people say: whatever happened to the northern powerhouse?” he said. Facebook Twitter Pinterest There is still a question mark over whether Northern Rail will fulfil its franchise commitment to phase out the Pacer train. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The GuardianHouchen, who is backing Boris Johnson in the Conservative leadership contest, said he believed the former foreign secretary was fully behind the northern powerhouse project. He said the next big test for government was whether it pledged support for Northern Powerhouse Rail, a new £39bn east-west railway line, in the autumn spending review.

Source: The Guardian June 21, 2019 07:52 UTC