A HUGE gulf in transport spending between Merseyside and the South East was described as "simply wrong" by campaigners last night.
The North West receives just 11% of funding for capital projects – compared with London (29%) and the South-East (17%), it was revealed.
The gap in overall transport spending is also vast, even allowing for the much larger population in London by comparing the outlay per person.
In the North West, spending is 94% of the England average per head, compared with London (197%), although the South-East figure (91%) is lower.
The figures were revealed – from official Treasury statistics – by the Campaign for High Speed Rail, which wants the government to back 250mph trains from the capital to Birmingham and beyond.
David Begg, the organisation's director, said: "These new figures demonstrate once and for all the dire need to re-balance investment in essential transport infrastructure across the UK.
"For too long, the North West has suffered as governments have had their head turned by London and the South-East. This is a compelling reason for investment in high speed rail, to boost jobs, attract economic investment and rebalance the economy of the country to benefit communities and families for generations to come."
The figures make uncomfortable reading for Labour because they are for 2009-10 – the last year the party was in power, after 13 years in office.
