Andy Burnham told a Labour party conference fringe meeting last week: “I give George Osborne (the former Chancellor) credit for launching the Northern Powerhouse, but I challenge the current Government: where is your commitment? We are still waiting for any real evidence to appear.”

If there is one area that will hold back success in the north of England, he remarked, it is transport.

Andy Burnham also called for Greater Manchester to have more control over funding and operation of its transport networks. “We just don’t have the levers of control over different modes of transport like Sadiq Khan (the Mayor of London) has.

"We can’t enforce box junctions and we don’t have red routes. We need parity for big English cities so that we can get a grip on our transport system, integrate it and make it work.”

He also said there is a clear case for Transport for the North to gain “full control and oversight over rail franchising” and said that Greater Manchester stands “ready to go on bus reform” but he is waiting for an Order to go through Parliament.

Andy Burnham also asked why Greater Manchester is being asked to pay for a High Speed 2 railway station at the city’s airport, as “the people who are more likely to use it will come from outside Greater Manchester”.

But he was pleased to note that “there is a widespread acceptance that things need to change” and described the current time as “a watershed moment” to improve transport in northern regions.

Photo Credit: Greater Manchester Combined Authority