The Northern Powerhouse is a proposal to boost economic growth in the North of England by the 2010-15 coalition government and 2015-20 Conservative government in the United Kingdom, particularly in the "Core Cities" of Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Newcastle. The proposal is based on urban agglomeration and aims to reposition the English economy away from London and the South East.
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The proposal involves improvement to transport links, investment in science and innovation, and devolution of powers in City Deals. MP for Stockton South, James Wharton, was appointed as minister responsible for the proposal in May 2015.
In October 2015 during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the UK, Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the Northern Powerhouse proposal has "Chinese backing".
Under the new government of Theresa May who became Prime Minister in July 2016, it was alleged that the focus on the North was to be downgraded into a nationwide agenda for boosting productivity outside the south-east. However, this was subsequently refuted by Theresa May who pledged to "help the great cities and towns of the North pool their strengths and take on the world".
In September 2016 one of the main architects of the Northern Powerhouse project, Lord O'Neill, resigned from the Government and quit the Tory benches in the upper house.
Transport improvements
Proposed transport improvements include Northern Powerhouse Rail (otherwise known as High Speed 3) and the ongoing work of the Northern Hub to remove a railway bottleneck around Manchester and provide faster connections across the North of England.
In December 2015, the government awarded the two rail franchises in the North of England from April 2016 onwards, the Northern and TransPennine Express franchises. These franchises will come with £1.2 billion of investment in more than 500 brand-new carriages, 2,000 extra services a week, free wi-fi on trains and at stations. The outdated Pacer trains will also be removed from the network.
In January 2016, the new southern entrance to Leeds station opened, allowing commuters travelling south to reduce their journey times from the station, as well as a new concourse and cycle storage.
In August 2016, it was reported that proposals for a road tunnel underneath the Pennines to cut journey times by 30 minutes between Manchester and Sheffield, were being advanced. If completed, it would be the world's longest road tunnel.
Science and innovation
Projects include the National Graphene Institute, Square Kilometre Array and National Biologics Industrial Innovation Centre.
Arts
Manchester will get a new £110 million theatre named The Factory (named after Factory Records).
In April 2016 the UK Government launched The Great Exhibition of the North, investing "£5 Million towards the exhibition with an additional £15 million into a legacy fund to attract further cultural investment in the Northern Powerhouse".
Devolution
An elected Mayor of Greater Manchester will assume significant powers in Greater Manchester. The interim Mayor of Greater Manchester is the former MP for Manchester Central, Tony Lloyd. Additional devolution proposals include the creation of elected mayors for Sheffield and the North-East (Newcastle, Durham, Northumberland, South Tyneside, North Tyneside and Sunderland), with the first elections due for 2017.