Thirsk and Malton MP, Kevin Hollinrake, has called for urgent action to address the regional income inequality which is he says is at a 100-year high.

Mr Hollinrake told an audience in Manchester that the average income in London is now 150% higher than in the North.

He also said that this is a direct result of decades of underinvestment in the region as for every £3 spent on infrastructure investment per capita in the South, just £1 is spent in the North.

Mr Hollinrake said that connectivity is the key to addressing this imbalance, which is why he has been calling on the Government to increase investment in transport in the North of England in line with the Transport for the North’s Strategic Transport Plan. This includes a commitment from the Government to a £7billion Northern Infrastructure Pipeline to deliver road and rails schemes, such as the dual carriageway on the A64, which would transform the economic fortunes for Ryedale and the East Coast and a further £39 billion for the Northern Powerhouse rail network.

Mr Hollinrake said: “Our current transport system is not capable of delivering the connectivity needed to make the Northern Powerhouse a reality. Northern Powerhouse rail, a transformational east-west network from Liverpool to Hull connecting all the towns and cities en-route will provide faster journey times, enhanced capacity and far greater frequency and is vital to increasing productivity, stimulating inward investment and creating opportunities for young people to secure skilled jobs. At the moment, we have a ridiculous situation where people living in York, Leeds or Bradford won’t apply for jobs in Manchester because the daily journey is too tortuous.”

Mr Hollinrake told his audience that underpinning all this Yorkshire must have its own devolution deals based on city regions, including a York City Region covering York and North Yorkshire.

"That way each area’s own individually elected mayors can ensure that every part of Yorkshire benefits from extra investment which is spent on specific local challenges and opportunities," he added.

Mr Hollinrake who is a candidate for the Chairmanship of the influential Treasury Select Committee said that, if elected, he would use the role to press the case for a step-change in Northern investment.