Move Whitehall rather than Parliament to Yorkshire to power up the North – Tom Richmond

“It will be backed by Department for Transport staff based here in the North,” he wrote in The Yorkshire Post on the day that he launched the new Northern Transport Acceleration Council.

Note those words. Based here in the North. A tacit acceptance that both policy-making – and policy-makers – have been biased in favour of London and the South East for far too long.

Recognition, too, that officials need to be closer to local communities – or railways in this case – if progress is to be made on upgrading links like the Leeds to Manchester trans-Pennine line.

Yet, while the current Transport Secretary is a man on a mission, he should now go even faster – and further – as part of the Government’s much-vaunted ‘‘levelling up’’ agenda.

He should push for the Department for Transport to become a trailblazer and become the first Whitehall ministry to move out of its London comfort zone and into the regions.

The same is also true of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government – effectively the department for English regions – and also Defra when it comes to rural affairs.

There’s no reason why they’re still based in London when only a small fraction of their work is related to the capital. Not only does this drive up staff and office costs, but it is part of a London-first culture that has exacerbated the North-South divide.

Move all officials closer to the people – the proposed Government hub in York or offices in cities like Leeds – and then the Civil Service’s mindset might change too when it comes to the regions.

That’s why Shapps, one of the Cabinet’s more forward-thinking members, should lead by example in his dual role as Northern Powerhouse