LETTER:Labour cannot cheat the North

From Mr David H. Seex Sir: Professor George Jones and Tony Travers of the London School of Economics welcome the Labour Party's proposals for a strategic London Authority (letter, 6 January). The LSE may be only concerned with London, but the Labour Party should be concerned for the whole country but it shows an unfortunate lack of commitment to our great provincial conurbations.

While there may not be a case for the re-creation of all the former metropolitan counties (Metropolitan Yorkshire, for example, comprises a group of separate cities rather than a true conurbation), the major conurbations of Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Birmingham, etc need a strategic authority just as London does. Indeed, their need is arguably greater than London's, for while London is competing with other capital cities for major institutions to locate there, central government is lobbying on thenation's behalf, while provincial cities are competing with other European centres and London.

While the provincial cities had to wait 10 years after the establishment of the GLC before their strategic authorities were created, they have suffered much more than London from their abolition in 1985.

London has the London Planning Advisory Committee to give a view on strategic planning and London Transport retains a planning role in public transport; elsewhere strategic land-use and transport planning has disappeared, public transport has been privatised and deregulated, resulting in massive fare increases and service cuts, and travelcards have been abandoned.

It is perhaps significant that the powers for a strategic London Authority proposed by Messrs Jones and Travers are similar to those of the former metropolitan counties. It would indeed be ironic if the northern conurbations in Labour's heartlands, having lost their strategic authorities because of the extravagant gestures of the former Labour GLC, were to be denied their replacement by a future Labour government.

Yours faithfully, DAVID H. SEEX Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester