Brown fails to support key North transport upgrades
Jul 4 2008 by William Green, The Journal
'Be more positive about North needs' PM told
LESS talk, more action was the message for Prime Minister Gordon Brown after his interview with The Journal.
Newcastle City Council leader John Shipley said: “It comes as a letdown for the region that in 11 years the North East has not progressed as much as it should have done in terms of public investment.”
The Liberal Democrat said transport funding was a big issue, especially with billions being spent in London on projects such as Crossrail. Referring to the need to secure the region’s cultural success, he added: “It is too easy to have fine words without producing the outcomes that are needed.”
Blyth Valley Labour MP Ronnie Campbell said he was disappointed by lack of support for rail improvements. “I would like him to be more positive about the North East because we have all got lines we can use, like old coal lines.”
On post offices, he said: “If people want to keep them open, we will try our best. But people have got to realise that they are very heavily subsidised and we cannot afford to keep them all open.”
Hexham Conservative MP Peter Atkinson said: “The Prime Minister should come to the North East and spend a bit more time here and see what the problems are. And let’s have some positive decisions about these things.”
Countryside Alliance regional director Richard Dodd felt the Government was pouring subsidies into wind farms that could be spent on post offices. “I understand that somewhere along the line some post offices may be past their sell-by date, but a lot of these post offices are a cornerstone of the local community.”
But Tyne Bridge Labour MP David Clelland said: “I am very pleased that he seems to be well aware of the main priorities that we are concerned about and the pressure there is to do something about the A1 and high-speed rail.”
