UK bid to woo northerners with promises of better future

British Prime Minister David Cameron and Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne Friday completed a whirlwind tour of northern England to promote their vision of a Northern Powerhouse.

Head along the main motorway from London and road signs will direct motorists to "The North" a vast area that encompasses many of the country's greatest cities, including Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle.

Those cities, working together as a "Northern Powerhouse" will help tackle the north-south divide by rebalancing the economy away from London, business and political leaders in the north are being told by Cameron and Osborne.

The premier pointed to the United States as an example, citing the success of creating major centers of industry, not just in New York, but in Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Atlanta.

"That is what we should aspire to in the UK, economic might not just held in one city, but spread right across our country," said Cameron.

"The cities and towns of the north of England can have that critical mass. If we join them together as a team and let them pool their strengths, if we back their scientists and innovators, if we back their thriving cultural life, make them great places to live and give them powerful elected voices, then we can create a northern powerhouse. We can only have a strong British economy if no part of the country is left behind," he added.

Cameron said the new chairman government's Highways Agency has been tasked with overseeing plans for the development of a plan for a major improvement in Trans-Pennine roads, which link the North West and North East regions of the country.

He cited new government figures showing that a tunnel could cut journey times across the Pennines mountain chain by up to 30 minutes.

Osborne announced the creation of a new research investment program called Health North.

"I have asked Professor Ian Greer, Provost of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Liverpool to develop this with a view to driving future medical innovations."

As a global center of "outstanding scientific innovation", the particular focus will be on material science, biomedicine, super-computing and energy with major investments in the universities and NHS teaching hospitals, said Osborne.

A six-point vision for the North promises thousands of new jobs, new homes and more than 4.5 billion pounds (about 6.8 billion U.S. dollars) in what will be the north's biggest ever infrastructure program.

Political opponents in the north view the high-level dual visit by the top two Conservatives as campaigning ahead of this May's British general election.

The North of England, either side of the Pennines, is traditionally loyal to the UK's second biggest party, Labor, who hold most of the parliamentary seats in the region.

"They have come up to the North with their promises of 'jam' tomorrow, but we up here in the provinces will take all this with a huge pinch of salt," said one Labor stalwart.

Whether enticing northerners to switch their political allegiances with a multi-billion pound spending spree will be tested on May 7.

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