HIGH SPEED 3

That this House welcomes the Chancellor of the Exchequer's proposals on a high-speed rail link between Manchester and Leeds as a first step towards a more prosperous North; expresses its concern, that a potential link between Manchester and Leeds would be a piecemeal approach to building a stronger economy and fairer society in the North; believes that this is a result of failing to include other Northern cities in the proposals which are the key to the economic success of the North and the country as a whole; calls on the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Secretary of State for Transport to consider the case for extending its ideas for a high-speed rail link to the core cities of the North, such as between Liverpool and Hull, and Carlisle and Newcastle-upon-Tyne; commends these proposals to the Chancellor of the Exchequer as serving the prosperity of the North, the ambition of its workers and the success of its business; and notes that such proposals would lessen the housing and population pressures building on Greater London and bolster the national economy by decreasing the dependence of the rest of the country on the economic dominance of London.