Treasury secretary Liz Truss says the government will make Leeds as wealthy as London.
The Tory minister made the ambitious claim during a BBC Question Time debate on the north-south divide, when concerns were raised about worrying levels of poverty, huge cuts to public spending and poor infrastructure in northern England.
An audience member pressed the MP, asking her where the money for northern investment will come from if Boris Johnson becomes Prime Minister and goes through with his proposed tax cuts.
She replied: "What Boris has said, is that London is one of the most productive cities in Europe. It's as productive as Germany.
"If we were to achieve what he's achieved in London right across the country, we can get growth up in places like Leeds and Halifax.
Presenter Fiona Bruce then interjected, saying: "Are you seriously suggesting making Halifax, wonderful city that it is, Leeds and Bradford as wealthy as London?"
Ms Truss replied: "Yes! I grew up in Leeds, which has one of the worst transport systems of any city in this country.
"It's the biggest city in Europe without its own mass transit network.
"I've just got stuck on the M62, it's a nightmare motorway.
"You have not had the investment you deserve in this area for generations and Boris wants to fix that.
"We want to make sure that more of the money we're spending is in the north of England, sorting out train services, sorting out the fibre infrastructure. This is what we want to do."
But her fellow panel members were not convinced.
Scottish broadcaster Ayesha Hazarika said: "Cutting taxes for the richest people is not going to turbo charge growth across the country.
"A no deal Brexit is going to reduce economic growth by 8 per cent over 15 years."
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