Headlines: Metro Mayor says Government rail plans for North are “scraps off the table”

Liverpool's Metro Mayor has responded to the Government’s announcement of an Integrated Rail Plan to change the rail network in the North and Midlands.

The Government set out its scaled-back plans for rail investment on Thursday. The Prime Minister maintained it would treble capacity between Manchester and Liverpool. However, Liverpool’s Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram said the North was being offered "scraps off the table".

In a statement, he said: "The Integrated Rail Plan was a once in a generation opportunity to revolutionise our country's rail network.

“Properly delivered, it had the potential to be as transformative for rail travel as Stephenson's Rocket. Instead, they have proposed a service that could have been promoted by Gladstone in the Victorian era.

"What we have seen is a government pretending to deliver that transformation but doing it on the cheap. Communities across the North have been held back for decades, forced to accept sticking plaster solutions and grossly underfunded by Government. "

"It's not too late to fix this. My door is open if the Government are serious about levelling up the North and want to engage with us."

Latest on COVID-19 in Wirral

Coronavirus case numbers are down in Wirral, ahead of what could be a brutal winter for the NHS.

In the week up to November 11, there were 1,092 cases in the borough, a fall from 1,126 the week before.

The latest figures follow a trend of declining case numbers, which has been consistent since early October.

Star studded cast for stage musical

Russell Watson will play 'Billy Flynn' in the UK and Ireland tour of the international smash hit musical Chicago. His first performance will be at the Liverpool Empire on Monday, February 7 2022.

Watson is regarded as one of the world's greatest classical singers, having released ten critically acclaimed studio albums.

His debut album, 'The Voice' held the number one chart position in the UK for a record-breaking 52 weeks. Watson has collaborated with Meatloaf, Lionel Richie, Paul McCartney, Alexandra Burke and Luciano Pavarotti throughout his extensive career.