Today, the Manchester Evening News joins forces with rival publishers across the north to call for Britain’s main political parties to commit to a revolution in the way government treats our communities.

Our Power Up The North collaboration between 33 newspapers and websites comes exactly a year after the launch of the One North campaign in the wake of unprecedented chaos on the region’s railways.

The collective voice of the north’s titles compelled the government to take immediate action on behalf of the millions of passengers who suffered travel misery.

Now, at a time of unparalleled political uncertainty, we are calling on the main parties – and those who aspire to lead them – to spell out what they intend to do, and how they will work with others, to narrow the north-south divide.

With nominations closing in the Tory party contest to succeed Theresa May – and with the prospect of a general election in the near future – every day of dither and delay risks leaving the north at an even greater disadvantage.

The case for fundamental change is now unanswerable and our political leaders must commit to real change.

(Image: Mark Waugh)

Today, we call on leaders to:

Deliver a fundamental shift in decision-making out of London, giving devolved powers and self-determination to people in the north

Commit funding immediately to make Northern Powerhouse Rail a national priority

Overhaul the region’s road and rail network as a part of a wider environmental plan, with devolved funding and powers

Put full weight behind a bespoke Industrial Strategy for the north of England to enable every sector of the economy, from manufacturing to farming, to flourish

Make additional investment available for the north’s schools, colleges and universities to boost skills training

Set out a programme to build a new generation of social housing and affordable homes

Accelerate investment in the north’s digital infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, and support creative industries

Commit that the government’s ‘shared prosperity fund’, intended to replace EU structural funding, be fully devolved in long-term tranches to enable strategic decisions of scale rather than areas having to bid in for smaller amounts, piecemeal.

We also call on the next PM to elevate the post of Northern Powerhouse minister to cabinet status, with full powers, as a clear signal that they intend to take this region seriously.

But more fundamentally, we need a sea-change in the way our country is run, after decades of being treated as an after-thought, if at all.

Leaders locally are trying to close those gaps with one hand tied behind their backs. For too long, the vast majority of decisions have been taken hundreds of miles away from our communities, making us the most centralised country in the west.

(Image: M.E.N.)

It shows.

Regional inequalities between London and the rest of the country are not only vividly apparent in everything from life expectancy to transport investment and wages, but they are also felt, keenly, by people here.

The M.E.N. and other newspapers are not alone in demanding change.

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Lord Michael Heseltine, a former deputy Prime Minister, believes our towns and cities now need ‘the powers and funding to develop long-term visions, in collaboration with local people’ if we are to tackle inequality - and the resentment that breeds - head-on.

Former civil service head and ex-Sheffield city council chief executive Lord Bob Kerslake made the same point in a damning criticism of government policymaking two weeks ago, when he highlighted 50 years of ‘unstated bias’ towards London.

A long-term, properly funded blueprint to rebalance that injustice is now needed, he says.

(Image: Mark Waugh)

His provocative comparison to the economic divide Germany found itself faced with following the fall of the Berlin Wall also points to the need for serious political willpower.

Solutions will require bravery and honesty.

But Britain’s major parties and aspiring premiers are now duty-bound to confirm whether they share One North’s vision for a prosperous and fairer future for everyone – or whether they plan to carry on putting London and the south east’s interests first.

Our demand is not new, but the imperative for it to be heard has never been more urgent.

The newspaper groups and websites involved in the Power Up The North campaign:

Manchester Evening News; Liverpool Echo; The Yorkshire Post; Yorkshire Evening Post; The Star (Sheffield); The Scarborough News; Harrogate Advertiser; Wakefield Express; Halifax Courier; Dewsbury Reporter series; Lancashire Evening Post; Blackpool Gazette; Wigan Today, including Wigan Observer and Wigan Post; Huddersfield Examiner, including Examiner Live; Leeds Live; Lancs Live; The Journal (Newcastle upon Tyne); Hull Daily Mail; The Chronicle, including Chronicle Live (Newcastle upon Tyne); The Gazette, including Teeside Live (Teeside); Bradford Telegraph & Argus; York Press; Craven Herald & Pioneer; Ilkley Gazette; Keighley News; Wharfedale Gazette; The Mail (Barrow-in-Furness); News and Star (Cumbria); Whitehaven News; Times and Star (Cumbria); The Westmorland Gazette; Hexham Courant; and The Cumberland News.