Cameron and Osborne push for 'northern powerhouse'

David Cameron and George Osborne are today embarking on a two-day tour of the north-west to promote a vision for a 'northern powerhouse' of economic growth.

The Prime Minister will offer a vision of a country less reliant on London and more like the US, with several "major centres of industry" other than New York.

"We can only have a strong British economy if no part of the country is left behind." Mr Cameron will say in a speech in Manchester with the Chancellor before making a series of visits across the region.

"We need a strong London, but we need a northern powerhouse too. The top 600 cities in the world contain just 20% of global population but create 60% of global GDP," he will argue.

Mr Osborne is expected to say that a growing north-south divide "is not inevitable, it is not something we should accept; it is instead something we have in our power to overcome".