JEREMY CORBYN’S critics will point out that his exclusive article in today’s Northern Echo, published on the day of his appearance at the Durham Miners’ Gala, fails to mention either Brexit or antisemitism, the two topics dominating the national debate surrounding the Labour Party.
That is regrettable, and Mr Corbyn’s persistent refusal to address either issue head on is causing the party significant damage.
However, unlike the Conservatives, who have chosen to ignore our ‘Power Up The North’ initiative, Mr Corbyn does at least come up with some clear policy proposals that would attempt to reduce the widening North-South divide.
A Labour Government would establish a National Investment Bank, supported by Regional Development Banks in the North, to help invest in green industry. It would fund a £250bn National Transformation Fund to improve transport, energy and digital infrastructure and base its headquarters in the North.
It would prioritise Crossrail for the North, providing faster train travel between the North’s major cities, and provide funding to enable councils to provide free bus travel for under-25s. Labour’s proposed National Education Service would provide free lifelong learning, allowing workers in the North to retrain.
These are potentially transformative policies, aimed directly at the North. Once the Conservative leadership contest is over, either Boris Johnson or Jeremy Hunt will have to come up with their own proposals to enable the North to flourish. We await their response.
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