New - back the North, back Londoners

Everyone getting a raw deal from this government deserves support

I have a few words for this morning’s Times Red Box. It’s about central government’s betrayal of the North of England and its simultaneous attack on London government. There’s a couple of reflections too on the Greater London Authority’s departure from City Hall.

It’s an argument for an alliance of people whose regions and cities are being let down - and worse - by the Tories.

In some quarters the tension between the needs of the North and the pressure on London has spilled out into arguments within Labour. Labour will be a successful national political project when it resolves this question.

The North is right to demand the powers of London. It should be supported in its case for greater investment in infrastructure. It is justified in denouncing the betrayal of promises of new rail links. London is right to insist on the ability to use its powers as devolution permits, and that it should not to be punished for a pandemic it did not cause.

You can read the whole thing now, and if you don’t have access to the the Times Red Box I hope to return to some of these points here.