Johnson promises new high-speed rail line between Leeds and Manchester

Boris Johnson has outlined key policy commitments – including a new high-speed rail route between Manchester and Leeds – in his first speech outside Westminster as PM.

The new route is projected to cut journey times significantly, from over an hour on average to under 30 minutes, and provide extra capacity across the region.

He claimed the announcement would “turbo charge” regional growth and prosperity, and said one of his top domestic priorities is to level out opportunities and unlock the potential not just of London and the South East, but of every corner of the UK.

Pledging new intercity rail routes across the north, with Manchester to Leeds as the first step, the prime minister said: “I want to be the PM who does with Northern Powerhouse Rail what we did with Crossrail in London.

“And today I am going to deliver on my commitment to that vision with a pledge to fund the Leeds to Manchester route.

“It will be up to local people and us to come to an agreement on the exact proposal they want, but I have tasked officials to accelerate their work on these plans so that we are ready to do a deal in the autumn.”

Downing Street said detailed plans would be published in the autumn following a review of the HS2 – the high-speed line that will link London, the Midlands and the north.

“This is a seminal moment for the north,” said Northern Powerhouse Partnership director Henri Murison.

“It is heartening to see the first major policy announcement by the new prime minister is to benefit the north – matching the commitment of businesses already investing here.”

Building on his commitments when he entered Downing Street, the prime minister also used his speech in Manchester to set out his vision to rebalance power, growth and productivity across the UK, and said his focus would not just be on major infrastructure projects.

He pledged to “improve the unglamorous local services which people use every day,” such as buses, saying it is about “services within cities, not just services between cities”.

The PM said – starting with plans for Manchester – he wanted more exclusive bus corridors, higher frequency services and low and zero emissions buses.

Mr Johnson also spoke about other pledges to boost education and social care, as well as a £3.6bn fund to help 100 towns improve things such as transport and broadband.

Making clear that the announcements were just the beginning of further work to boost local infrastructure and services, the prime minister added: “I want to help local leaders bring their local services in all our towns and cities up to the standards of the best.

“And I want that to start now, with improvements that can happen in the short term, not just big engineering schemes that will take years.”

Mr Johnson defended his plans and denied he would struggle to find the many billions needed for the rail project and other major pledges announced this week, such as 20,000 more police.

“The plans we’re announcing I think have been pretty reasonable. Everyone knows there is fiscal headroom for the education spending… the police spending is widely applauded and supported. And yes, we want to go ahead with Northern Powerhouse Rail.

“I think the return on investment for this country would be colossal.”

Jeremy Corbyn has expressed doubt as to whether the pledge will come to fruition.

He told Sophy Ridge On Sunday that the plan to link Manchester and Leeds was not enough, and called for a “Crossrail for the North” that would also connect Newcastle and Hull.

“All the prime minister has done is go to Manchester, stood in exactly the same place George Osborne did five years ago and announced the same thing – and it still hasn’t happened,” he said.

“What the North really needs is a Crossrail for the North, which would be connectivity with Newcastle and with Hull.”

:: Watch the full interview with Jeremy Corbyn on Sophy Ridge On Sunday from 9am on Sunday on Sky News.

(c) Sky News 2019: Johnson promises new high-speed rail line between Leeds and Manchester