Len Tingle Regional Political Editor BBC Yorkshire and Lincolnshire

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The growing economy: New office blocks in Leeds

The last decade has seen huge public investment aimed at boosting the economies of the regions which make up the North of England.

Billions have been spent but there is still a huge economic gap to be filled.

According to Government figures, the annual value of the output of all the North's manufacturers and businesses is currently running at �29bn less than the average of any other part of the United Kingdom.

All this, despite UK and EU cash being used on projects like:

• the bulldozing of dereliction in the former South Yorkshire coal and steel belt to make way for new industry
• transforming coastal fishing ports
• peppering the skylines of urban areas like Leeds and Bradford with giant cranes for new building projects

Most of the public money already spent has been channelled through the independent development agencies for the three regions which make up the North:

• Yorkshire and the Humber
• the North West
• the North East

They have each been responsible for spending around �250m a year to spark off economic improvement in their areas.

Now there is a new organisation which is aimed at doing the same thing for the North as a whole.

The "Northern Way", with an initial �100m growth fund and based in Newcastle, claims it has a role to play across a range of issues including:

• improving the Northern workforce
• co-ordinating better transport links
• harnessing innovation from universities
• ensuring a reasonable quality of life

Transport links are stifling the economy. Will the Northern Way unblock them?

It is in its infancy so far but there are those that would have liked to strangle it at birth.

According to John Watson it is little more than an expensive added layer of useless bureaucracy.

He is the former Conservative MP who led the successful "Yorkshire Says No" campaign against the Governments plans to set up elected regional assemblies.

On the Politics Show Yorkshire and Lincolnshire he will argue that the "The Northern Way" needs to be dumped in a similar manner.

John Watson says the Northern Way is a completely useless idea

This view is not shared by Steve Houghton, the council leader of Barnsley in South Yorkshire.

"We need a Northern strategy", he says.

"The Northern Way will do two things for us. Firstly it will lobby Government on behalf of for the North as a whole to help bridge that economic gap.

"We also need co-ordinated investment in projects that are useful in the North but really aren't required in the South."

Steve Houghton says the Northern Way can create wealth

As an example, Steve Houghton points to a successful pilot project aimed at helping people come off long term incapacity benefit.

The North has far more in this position than any other part of the UK with 17,000 claimants in Barnsley alone.

Steve Houghton believes the Northern Way could help share the benefits of the former pit-town's experience.

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