Rishi Sunak has announced two new economic hubs will open in northern England – a move that will be seen as an attempt by the Conservatives to strengthen support outside their traditional heartlands. Several other locations including Bradford and Newcastle upon Tyne were said to have been under consideration in the plan to move Westminster-based civil servants north. Its main claim to fame is being the birthplace of the world’s first steam locomotive-powered, permanent passenger railway, the Stockton and Darlington Railway. Helen PiddIn Leeds, Sunak promised the infrastructure bank would be up and running “in an interim form” by spring. “Redrawing our economic map means rebalancing our economic investment,” said Sunak, who is also MP for Richmond in Yorkshire.

Source: The Guardian March 03, 2021 12:27 UTC