Boris Johnson unveiled his plan this week to rejuvenate Britain's railways and

tackle regional inequality, but some local leaders were unimpressed.

If you're going to level up this part of the world, if you're going to level up the north of England with the south, east of England particularly,

you have to unlock its full potential and that means bringing forward your best solution, not a cut price solution.

Welcome to Payne's Politics, your central insider guide to what's happening in British politics from the Financial Times, with me Sebastian Payne.

In this slightly extended edition, we'll be delving into that plan for reshaping the railways, which you heard greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham lambasted at the top.

It's £100billion of investment, the big change in the generation, or a massive disappointment.

Chief political correspondent Jim Picard will discuss with a special guest, the former chancellor and chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership George Osborne.

While on top of the rail announcement, it's been a rather torrid week for Boris Johnson, but later will be looking at whether any of it matters.

The toys may be behind in the opinion pose, but is the party hanging with him and for how long?

Political editor George Parker will analyse along with the FT's contributing editor Camilla Cavendish.

And first, Jim and George, welcome back to Payne's Politics.

Morning.

Good morning.

Now we're here to talk about trains, and I think you're both quite a train for Sianardo, so I'm going to go a little bit about Alan Partridge for a moment and ask you both, what is your favourite train journey across the UK, Jim?

Well, it wasn't the one that took 15 hours to get to COP26 a couple of weeks ago.

I definitely know what my worst journey is.

I just love London to Edinburgh, I love that route, and I love the way you see a bit of coast just in the final hour or so before you reach Edinburgh.

And George, what about you?

Well, I spent a good portion of my adult life on the West Coast mainline going up and down to my constituency in Tatton, and you know, when I started as an MP, it was a terrible journey, and then a huge amount of money was spent on the West Coast mainline and actually became very pleasant and very efficient.

So I've seen in my own lifetime what serious investment and bold thinking can do to railway journeys.

Indeed, and I'm going to go, obviously, I'm going to go stereotypical here and say for me, it still has to be the East Coast mainline as the trains pass through Durham, and you go over that viaduct and see the cathedral and the castle appear on the distance for me.

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