“HUGE potential” in Bradford is being held back by creaking infrastructure and a lack of transport investment.

That was the message from Bradford South MP Judith Cummins in a Commons debate on transport in the North.

It heard the Transport for the North partnership, an organisation formed to transform the North of England’s transport system, has to develop plans for the whole region with just £10 million more than Transport for London spent on advertising in 2008.

Speaking in the debate, Mrs Cummins said: “Transport has been a frequent topic of my contributions, and it will remain so until the North of England gets the improved transport connectivity it so desperately needs.

“Modern, efficient transport infrastructure is a catalyst to growth. Improved regional transport connectivity is the key to unlocking prosperity in my home city of Bradford, and it is essential to fostering wider prosperity across West Yorkshire and the whole of the North of England.

“It is fundamental to addressing the regional differentials in our economy.”

She said the North has had a “raw deal” from Whitehall.

“The huge potential in my home city of Bradford and in other towns and cities across the north of England is being held back by creaking infrastructure and a lack of transport investment,” Mrs Cummins said.

“It is quicker to travel from London to Paris on Eurostar than it is to travel by rail from Liverpool to Hull. That can and must change, and investment is the key.

“Public spending per person on transport in the North of England over the past 10 years was less than half that in London, and that differential is set to get much, much wider.

“If the North of England had received the same per person as London over these past 10 years, transport, economic performance and prosperity in the North would be in a very different position, and our nation would be better for it.”

She said judgements on transport infrastructure are often skewed and favour London.

“London gets investment, its economy benefits and so future investment there looks yet more attractive.

“This must stop. The Government need to get a better lens through which to view infrastructure investment in the North - one that sets out to solve the problem of regional difference, not one that reinforces it. They need a system that directs investment to the service of rebalancing our economy across the regions.”

She called for long-term, targeted investment and urged the Government to reaffirm its commitment to Transpennine rail electrification.”

John Cridland, Chair of Transport for the North, said he believed it was a case of not taking away from the South, but building on what the North has already got.

He said there is a disparity between the North of England and the South when it comes to living standards, but the education system has to deliver and the commute to higher quality jobs needs to be made easier.

Mr Cridland added that a faster, regular and more reliable rail service from coast to coast - from Hull to Liverpool - was important. He said getting trains from West Yorkshire to Greater Manchester in 30 minutes, six times an hour, would be a "realistic" daily commute, creating something akin to the London Underground.

Mr Cridland added that while it is a 30-year plan, the details of which will be released next year, people in Bradford would still see improvements in the near future, for example the replacement of old Pacer trains and a move towards contactless travel.