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The North of England should 鈥渢ake control鈥� of transport policy in the region, Chris Grayling has said.

The transport secretary, , said: 鈥淎lthough one of my biggest priorities as secretary of state is to build the transport links the North needs to thrive, they must be designed and managed by the North itself.

鈥淚t is central government鈥檚 responsibility to provide funding and a delivery structure that ensures efficiency, value for money and accountability. But beyond this, I want the North to take control.鈥�

The government has set up Transport for the North (TfN), a sub-national transport body for the region, and backed the election of metro mayors, which Grayling said has 鈥済iven the North greater autonomy and control, and a powerful voice to articulate the case for new transport projects鈥�.

The transport secretary said he had begun 鈥渢aking steps to put TfN on a statutory footing鈥�.

Grayling was speaking as civic leaders from across northern England attended a conference in Leeds to debate transport.

The transport secretary continued: 鈥淚nstead of ministers and civil servants in Whitehall deciding what鈥檚 best for the North, I want TfN and other northern leaders to come forward with fully costed proposals to improve journeys for transport users and provide value for taxpayers.鈥�

Grayling said the policy would not set 鈥渙ne region against another鈥�, and criticised Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald for suggesting the Government was favouring Crossrail 2 in London over the HS3 project in the north.

鈥淭hey cast doubts on our plans for Northern Powerhouse Rail 鈥� the proposed east-west railway linking Liverpool and Hull. They were wrong,鈥� said Grayling.

鈥淲e are fully committed to our northern transport programme, including Northern Powerhouse Rail. In fact we have given TfN 拢60m to develop proposals for the scheme, and are working with them to strengthen the business case for the line. It鈥檚 exactly the same as the way we鈥檙e working with Transport for London on Crossrail 2.

鈥淭he only difference between the two schemes is that Crossrail 2 has been nine years in the making, while we started planning Northern Powerhouse Rail in 2013.鈥�

Burnham that government transport policy is too weighted towards economic tests rather than social needs, meaning the North frequently loses out to London on funding.

McDonald the transport secretary for pulling the plug on the trans-Pennine electrification plan.

Yesterday, former chancellor George Osborne said the north of England should get high-speed railway lines to help boost the region鈥檚 economy

鈥淚t would bring seven million extra people 鈥� and three times the number of businesses 鈥� within a 90-minute journey time of one of the northern cities,鈥� he said,