Campaign for North of England transport "fairness" steps up after Grayling pledge to "rest of the country"

Approaching 40,000 people have signed a petition calling on the transport secretary to back the Northern Powerhouse rail programme including a 30-minute link between Manchester and Leeds as "a matter of fairness".

Think-tank IPPR North set up the petition after Chris Grayling pulled the plug on rail electrification plans for northern England, the Midlands and Wales, and backed Crossrail 2. It states that Northern Powerhouse rail programme was in the Conservative Party General Election manifesto but Crossrail 2 was not, and asserts that the North needs at least £59bn 'catch-up cash' in order for the North to receive as much funding per person as London did over the last decade. It adds that from 2016/17 onwards planned public and private transport expenditure is set "at nearly £2,000 per head, compared with £400 per head in the North before Crossrail 2 is taken into account".

The petition has been covered by The Times, The Guardian, and The Huffington Post since the weekend, adding to political pressure on Grayling after he said that the funding package for Crossrail 2 must "work for both London and the rest of the country and recognise other priorities," and was immediately blasted by the Greater Manchester and Liverpool City Region Mayors and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.