PM and Chancellor joke about levelling up on Manchester rail upgrade visit
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak were shown track improvements which will create shorter journey times across the North of England.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak found out how Government money is being spent as they toured a rail upgrade site in Manchester.
They were shown blueprints for the so-called Northern Powerhouse Rail improvements while being talked through the upgrades by Network Rail bosses on Monday.
Following the briefing, the pair, wearing hi-vis jackets, were taken on a trip up to the tracks to see the overhaul first hand.
The two men were told that signalling and other performance boosts will result in journeys of just half an hour between Manchester and Leeds and 42 minutes from York to Manchester once the work is completed.
While on site, the Cabinet colleagues cracked jokes about “levelling up” – one of the Conservative administration’s policy catchphrases – as they were shown how technology helps ensure construction lines are level.
They then spoke with apprentices who are helping to dig in the improvements at the Miles Platting site.
Mr Sunak told them they are part of one of the biggest rail investments in their lifetimes.
After telling the young workers they should be proud to be part of such a development, one apprentice told them the rail improvements will be “good for a night out”.
Asked what he meant, the worker said taxis are cheaper in Leeds, making it more reasonable for a night out than Manchester.
Mr Johnson chuckled and replied: “The taxis are cheaper? That’s good to know.”
The politicians posed for photographs with the Network Rail on-site team before being driven back to central Manchester for the Conservative Party conference, where Mr Sunak was due to give his first in-person address to supporters since being promoted to Chancellor.
