Northern Powerhouse Rail gathers steam as Burnham talks devolution

Dear readers — we hope you had a wonderful weekend basking in the sun, and didn’t make the same mistake as Abi and attend the Palmhouse’s Japanese outdoor market sans sun cream. A sore awakening this morning, let me tell you…

Over the weekend, we published two pieces — a brilliant dissection of Andy Burnham by Jack, and a long awaited update on our court case with Laurence Westgaph. For those of you yet to read that, I can reveal that we won our case, defending the right for our sources to remain anonymous. 

This is an enormous deal for us. As a very small publisher, the cost of £75,000 was enormous, and that’s before you factor in the toll the stress of the process has taken. But it was entirely worth it for the sake of protecting our sources. 

We’d also like to thank everyone who supported us throughout this, and who celebrated with us in the comments section on Sunday:

“Superb work. It's worth considering other people who may have been on the receiving end but unable to do anything about it. This is a victory on their behalf too.” — Hugh Thompson

“Brilliant news and massive well done to you all for sticking it out.” — Elliott Morrow 

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The big story

Top line: With Andy Burnham announcing his vision for the country this morning, is Northern Powerhouse Rail now an unstoppable locomotive? 

Context: In January, we reported that Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour government had backed the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) programme to the tune of £45bn, following a decade of development hell. 

NPR, an attempt to unlock the economic potential of the north through better and faster rail connections, was initially proposed by George Osborne in 2014, and picked up by Boris Johnson in 2019. The project would include a new high-speed Liverpool-Manchester route via Manchester Airport and Warrington in the 2030s.

Of course, when it comes to large, costly and long-term infrastructural projects in this country, adopting an attitude of “I’ll believe it when I see it” is wise. The northern legs of the HS2 project were cancelled by the Rishi Sunak-led Conservative government in 2023 after many years and billions of pounds had already been spent. 

But following the HS2 debacle, one northern mayor was keen to learn the lessons:

“It should be like a morality tale in Whitehall,” said then-mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham. “This was the worst example of utter waste of public money.” 

Burnham was busy helping unveil plans for a new rail line between Greater Manchester and the West Midlands — one that its backers claimed would cost a fraction of HS2’s northern leg. Meanwhile, he was also co-chair of the Liverpool-Manchester Railway (LMR) Board with Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) mayor Steve Rotheram. 

The new LMR, according to Burnham and Rotheram’s “Northern Arc” presentation, would be central to a “growth corridor” of economic development between the two cities. When NPR was backed by the government in January this year, the LCRCA expanded the corridor concept all the way to York, saying it had “the potential to rival [...] the Rhine-Ruhr region in Germany and the Randstad in the Netherlands.” 

All very good on paper. But recent developments seem to confirm chancellor Rachel Reeves insistence that, this time, NPR really is happening.

Friends in high places: On Friday, the new Cheshire and Warrington Combined Authority (CWCA) unveiled plans for a high-speed railway line and station at Warrington Bank Quay — an important part of phase 2 of the NPR project. The CWCA is now seeking to join the LMR Board chaired by Steve Rotheram. 

And, of course, his board co-chair Andy Burnham is currently in pole position to become the next prime minister after Starmer’s resignation. 

Burnham, the newly minted MP for Makerfield, will make a speech in Manchester today setting out his stall. Devolution is expected to be top of the agenda, with more powers delineated to regional authorities such as LCRCA and CWCA — both of whom are enthusiastic about NPR.

"This is definitely going to happen,” Rotheram said back in January. “This is something that any future government would find it difficult not to back.”

A good idea? Like all major infrastructure proposals, NPR has its supporters and its critics. 

Burnham has previously said he would reinstate the northern leg of HS2, so whether a Birmingham to Manchester link would form part of that project or NPR is unclear. But just today, the National Audit Office cautioned that revised plans should not be put into action until the government is confident they can be delivered — a warning that surely holds true for NPR also. 

Andrew Gilligan, Boris Johnson’s former transport advisor, has repeatedly warned that NPR is a waste of money, even going so far as to label the government’s backing of it “a tragedy”.

“The Liverpool-Manchester stretch,” Gilliagn warns, “will cost at least £17 billion but journeys between the two cities will take longer than the existing service. That’s because it will run via Manchester Airport — sort of. The ‘airport’ station will actually be a mile from the airport; you’ll have to transfer by bus.” 

Gilligan also believes that the project will never happen: “there’s no prospect of finding perhaps £60bn”. (The project is currently capped at £45bn.)

Bottom line: With Burnham the presumptive prime minister, further devolution and a focus on projects up north seem likely. His close connection to Rotheram, plus the additional leverage expected to be meted out to regional mayors, all make NPR seem like an inevitability. But with British politics far less predictable than the weather right now, don’t count out another debacle. 

Your Post briefing

Liverpool council could face a legal challenge over their decision to change parking rules last year. In July, new parking rules were implemented in the city, shifting free parking from 6pm to 11pm. This was despite a public consultation showing 90% of residents were against the change. Now, ex-councillor and local businessman Alfie Hincks plans to challenge that decision, arguing the new rules have been detrimental to the city centre economy. "We believe these parking measures risk damaging the city centre economy at a time when businesses are already facing immense pressures," Hincks told the BBC. "We believe there are important legal questions that now deserve to be properly tested." A spokesperson for Liverpool council said they were “satisfied that we have acted lawfully”, but said they could not comment any further.

The Adelphi in court: Britannia Hotels — the owner of the Adelphi — are in court today after a 21-year-old woman was crushed by a wardrobe in one of their rooms. Chloe Haynes was found dead in her room back in 2022, and initially three men were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder. They were later released without charge and her death was deemed accidental. In news reports from the time, the colleague who found Chloe’s body recounted discovering her with an old wardrobe on top of her, crushing her windpipe. She called for help, and while CPR was performed they were unable to resuscitate Chloe. Since then, Liverpool council has found a total of 20 health and safety offences under the names of two limited companies associated with the hotel. Britannia said they were unable to comment due to the ongoing legal action. 

A team of firefighters from Merseyside have flown to Venezuela to help rescue people affected by the recent earthquakes. More than 1,400 people have been killed since Wednesday, when two back-to-back earthquakes rippled through the country. Now, a team of 68 personnel, sniffer dogs and drones have been flown over to Venezuela from the UK, with the firefighters on board led by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service. 

And last week, Laurence (Thompson, just to clarify) appeared on the Turning World, a new Liverpool-based podcast exploring the intersection of politics, culture and religion, hosted by St Michaels-in-the-Hamlet vicar Keith Hitchman and Post freelancer Jon Egan. Previous guests have already included politicians such as Walton MP Dan Carden and leader of Lancashire County Council Stephen Atkinson and past Post contributors like writers Jonny Ball and Jeff Young. Topics under discussion during Laurence’s appearance included The Post’s journalistic mission, the difficulties of covering the entire city region and the vulnerability of regional identities in a globalised world. If you have an hour spare, give it a listen!

Photo of the week

This snapshot from Reddit made us laugh over the weekend. Turns out, it's not just us seeking shade from the sun’s oppressive heat. Even the pigeons can’t hack it. Thanks to Reddit poster Narcissister for this image.

Recommended reads

Today’s recommended reading are our stories about Laurence Westgaph. If you missed them the first time around, you can catch up with them all below. 

Laurence Westgaph was a known abuser. Why did National Museums Liverpool look the other way?

A Post investigation reveals how the city’s biggest cultural institution ignored allegations of sexual and domestic violence against its resident historian

The PostAbi Whistance

Opinion: Women in high places have closed ranks around Laurence Westgaph for too long

Ignoring The Post’s investigation might seem like the safest option for those who have known or defended Westgaph in the past. But this is a moment for brutal honesty

The PostThe Post

Laurence Westgaph is under investigation by National Museums Liverpool. Why is he still touring at the Walker Art Gallery?

‘I think she needs to resign. This is a massive fuckup’

The PostShannon Keating

‘Cutthroats and sell outs’: An editor’s note about Laurence Westgaph’s threats

The historian has been threatening us with High Court action and trying to intimidate our sources and staff

The PostAbi Whistance

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