A FAVOURITE quote from the1980s tv series The A-Team is "I love it when a plan comes together".
When David Cameron and George Osborne blitzed the North-East with their flagship policy the Northern Powerhouse the Tory duo really thought they had a plan to put the area right back on track.
A nationwide £38bn rail cash boost was on offer, one of the biggest investments since Victorian times, and the North was in for a slice of it.
Just a few weeks down the line and the project - like most of those in the Tory manifesto - has run out of steam.
Stephenson's Rocket mustered more movement than the Tories' Northern Powerhouse ever did.
Most projects in the North have now been re-set, paused, stalled or abandoned altogether.
The pessimist sees only the dark in the tunnel. The optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel.
The realist sees any rail upgrade in the North disappearing into the distance, never to see the light of day.
Stephen Dixon, Redcar.
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