Stuart Andrew MP: Why the Core Cities need High Speed Rail

Stuart Andrew is Conservative Member of Parliament for Pudsey.

The Core Cities are the economically most important cities outside of London in England: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.

Scenario analysis has shown that the Core Cities' wider areas have the potential to create an additional one million jobs over the next twenty years.  Realising this potential will require new businesses and investment, which in turn requires better accessibility. 

Growth is driven by trade, investment and innovation.  Trade needs access to markets of all types and sizes.  Investment and innovation go hand in hand but successful innovation also requires market access – it is hard to do when isolated or unable to exploit economies of scale.