As much as £20bn could be available to fund a "modern railway for the 21st century" between Liverpool and Manchester using the money saved from scrapping the Northern leg of HS2, mayor Andy Burnham has suggested.
13.10.2023 - 15:59 / manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Andy Burnham has pleaded with people not to use taxis licensed by a council 80 miles away.
The mayor Greater Manchester has once again condemned private hire drivers working in the city-region who are signed up with Wolverhampton council. He spoke on the latest ‘In the Hotseat’ programme on BBC Radio Manchester.
He was quizzed by a Salford cabbie on what he planned to do about the ‘safety risks’ in private hire cars and how he planned to stop those signed up elsewhere from working in Manchester.
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“How can you guarantee the safety of people on the streets from there?,” Mr Burnham said to host Mike Sweeney. “I think the reason people go there [Wolverhampton] is because they don’t charge as much to licence taxis.
“The checks they do aren’t as stringent and it is not right. They are undermining public safety in Greater Manchester.”
Wolverhampton Council have denied that it is 'quicker and easier' to get a private hire licence with them, claiming applicants undergo a 'strict and rigorous' process. A spokesperson for the local authority said applicants to their licensing team are 'usually local to the area they drive in,' but added that many have chosen to be licensed in Wolverhampton due to our 'efficient, yet rigorous licensing process.'
According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, 8,952 private hire drivers licensed by Wolverhampton Council are on the roads in Greater Manchester. This makes up 35 per cent of the private hire cabs operating across the city-region.
Private hires are
As much as £20bn could be available to fund a "modern railway for the 21st century" between Liverpool and Manchester using the money saved from scrapping the Northern leg of HS2, mayor Andy Burnham has suggested.
Labour politicians from across Greater Manchester have met with members of the Muslim community as pressure mounts on the party over its stance on the Israel-Gaza war. Mayor Andy Burnham was joined by Gorton MP Afzal Khan and council leaders from across the city-region at the meeting in Whalley Range this afternoon (October 27).
The scrapping of HS2 has left Greater Manchester with an ‘opportunity’, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has told council bosses.
Greater Manchester's civic leaders have called for an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East.
Knife crime has fallen by 16 per cent in Greater Manchester despite rising across England and Wales - but mayor Andy Burnham says there is more work to do be done to tackle it. The city-region still has one of the highest levels of knife crime in the country.
It's now a familiar sight on Greater Manchester's streets - taxis with 'out of town' plates. A recent investigation found that more than a third of private hire drivers - who work for companies like Uber - are actually licensed by Wolves Council, who operate 80 miles away.
Avanti West Coast is to cut the number of services it operates in December because of staff shortages, reducing weekend train frequency on one of Britain’s main intercity lines before Christmas.
One of the most powerful public officials in Greater Manchester has announced he will be retiring. Eamonn Boylan will step down as chief executive of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) and Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) in May.
The BBC has reached 'an agreement' with Andrew Flintoff after he was involved in a crash while filming Top Gear, the corporation has said. The former England cricket captain, 45, appeared with facial injuries in public for the first time in September, nine months after he was taken to hospital after he was hurt while filming the BBC motoring show at its test track at Dunsfold Aerodrome last December.
Manchester Evening News readers have been having their say on the issue of 'out-of-town' taxi drivers after Andy Burnham said the widespread practice was 'undermining public safety'. According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, 8,952 private hire drivers licensed by Wolverhampton Council are on the roads in Greater Manchester.
Andy Burnham has released a statement on the crisis in Gaza and 'condemned without reservation the appalling attacks in Israel by Hamas'. The Mayor also said he was 'determined' that all communities in Greater Manchester would be kept safe, while also reiterating the right of the public to take part in peaceful protest.
Liam Gallagher will be this week’s surprise voice for Manchester’s tram announcements.The former Oasis member and Manchester music legend is set to take over the tram announcements in celebration of the Bee Network, Greater Manchester’s integrated public transport system, and Beyond the Music festival. Gallagher will be announcing the stops as they go via some pre-recorded snippets.Beyond the Music Festival is a new fest and change-making conference that is set to take place in Manchester from October 11-14.
Bolton’s link to the rest of Greater Manchester could end up being the unlikely beneficiary of the scrapping of HS2 as plans to bring the Metrolink tram service to the town look on the cards. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to invest nearly £4billion on improving connectivity in the Northern towns and cities when the HS2 link from Birmingham to Manchester was axed last week.
More than a third of private hire taxi drivers in Greater Manchester are licensed by a council that operates around 80 miles away in Wolverhampton.
More than 200 people in Greater Manchester may have died due to air pollution since the Clean Air Zone was supposed to start, campaigners have claimed. The controversial scheme which was set to come into force last year before it was delayed could have also prevented 496 days spent in hospital due to respiratory conditions if it cut pollution as intended, they argue.
Andy Burnham says the decision to cancel Manchester’s HS2 link means the city is only ‘temporarily derailed’.
The Manchester leg of HS2 has been cancelled, the Prime Minister has confirmed today. The high-speed railway line, which is currently being built between London and Birmingham, will not reach the North of England as planned.It follows weeks of speculation over the fate of the second phase of the multi-billion pound scheme. Ministers have repeatedly refused to confirm whether HS2 line to Manchester will go ahead since reports first emerged last month that the government was considering shelving the plans due to concerns about spiraling costs and severe delays.
Rishi Sunak - widely expected to announce the axing of the Manchester leg of HS2 - will criticise decades of politicians making 'the easy decision, not the right one' when he takes to the stage at the Conservative Party Conference in the heart of the city.
Andy Burnham has reacted with fury after reports HS2 trains will come to Manchester - but on 'normal tracks'. Sky News tonight reported that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has decided to drastically alter the northern leg of the high-speed rail project to save money, effectively scrapping the high-speed stretch to Manchester.
Rishi Sunak laughed after he was grilled by Susanna Reid about 'letting down the people of Manchester' amid reports he is planning to axe the northern HS2 leg.