Collectively we gain more from a strong European and long distance network out of Mcr with good ground connections than by diffusing the frequencies
That's the nub of it all really. Is it the case that the Leeds City Region is a net gainer from MAN? Or does MAN create net economic leakage of jobs and spend and make the Leeds region a less attractive place to invest compared to Manchester ?
I don't know the answer. I do know that some believe it's a one way deal - the Leeds City Region provides a very healthy feed of passengers into MAN but gets proportionality little of the benefit back in terms of jobs. Other's think differently, but in the absence of hard data it is hard to say.