The Conservatives have been failing to deliver the infrastructure the North so desperately needs – for example, the delayed Northern Powerhouse Rail. This high-speed rail link was announced by then Chancellor George Osborne in June 2014 to allow cities across the north to “take on the world”. Six years on, work on the line has not yet been approved, let alone started. 

This failure is part of a broader national picture where:

• Not a single one of the 200,000 starter homes the Conservatives promised in 2015 has been built, despite nearly £200 million being spent
• The Government has been forced to concede it will not keep its promise to deliver nationwide gigabit broadband rollout by 2025, and now looks highly likely to miss even its reduced target of 85% coverage
• The Government has refurbished less than half of the schools it had promised by this year, and the programme has been delayed by four years and is running £300 million over budget

For far too long, the Conservatives have been letting down the people of Sheffield  The Tories make endless promises but, when it comes down to it, they’re all talk and no action.

The Government needs to make up for past mistakes and give Sheffield the investment it needs. I will be pushing them to do just that.