BasilBrush, until the funding for major transport schemes is properly devolved to local bodies then the buck generally does stop with DfT in London. They are the ones (along with Treasury) who set the rules in terms of project eligibility and financial appraisal. As a result projects are generally assessed on a 'competitive' basis against projects from other regions plus London. Projects in the south east always come out way ahead in any assessment as there are so many more people down there and the per capita costs therefore so much lower.
The scales are weighted against us...