TOO many Northern politicians are on their ‘high horses’ demanding new transport investment, according to Bolton’s Tory MP.

Chris Green attended today's Northern Transport Summit in Leeds, where the region’s leaders warned that an outdated, expensive and slow transport system was holding the North back.

However, the Bolton West MP has defended his government’s plans for railway improvements, after transport secretary Chris Grayling came under fire for casting doubt over a Manchester to Leeds electrification programme while backing a new £30 billion Crossrail 2 scheme in London.

Today's transport summit agreed that a representative body of political, business and other leaders should be set up to speak with one voice for the North.

Mr Green said: “I am delighted that there is this movement between businesses and politicians in the north of England to press the government in an organised way and demand resources for transport that should have been delivered 10, 20 years ago. It is the Conservative devolution strategy that is allowing those voices to get together and champion the North of England.

“The Government is looking at a range of alternatives to see what can keep the railways running with minimal disruption while delivering the best service. Unfortunately, too many Labour politicians don’t look at the practicalities and the reality. They just get on their high horses demanding investment that they never delivered in 13 years in power.”

Mr Grayling argued that while improving northern transport links was one of his “biggest priorities” they must be “designed and managed by the North itself”.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urged the Government to “play your part of the bargain” in the promised Northern Powerhouse.

He said: “We are patriotic people in the North. We are proud of our capital city. We want it to have a 21st century transport system but it is not too much to ask the same for ourselves.

“The truth is we are London-centric as a nation. Too centralised. Devolution in the region is beginning and I think this could be a change for the better but it is up to us to grab the opportunity and fill that space with our passion to improve the North of England. To improve the prospects of life chances of people who live here.

“What I would like to see today is a plan that we can all begin to get behind, a campaign, because we do need to pool our influence and begin to use it on the national stage.”

The summit called on the Government to honour commitments to deliver improvements to rail services, prioritise its manifesto pledge to deliver new west-east rail infrastructure across the region and to set out a fairer distribution of transport funding across the country.