10 March 2023 , 22:00
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Rishi Sunak was forced to deny “betraying” the North again today after the Government announced fresh delays to the HS2.
The Tories opted to delay for two years the high speed line between Birmingham and Crewe to save costs, triggering fury across the region.
The move came 15 months after the Conservatives axed the eastern leg of the 225mph railway, which was originally planned to run from London Euston to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham.
Asked by The Mirror why he was betraying Northern voters on transport, the rattled Prime Minister hit back: “We're not remotely doing that.
“Actually, there's record investment in rail infrastructure, but especially across the North and the Midlands under this and the previous Conservative governments.”
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Pointing to developments in towns and villages in the North East, he added: "It's hard to look at all of that and say the Government is not investing in the North and taking the North seriously - of course it is.”
HS2 was delayed in order to save money, the government said (PA)Southampton-born Mr Sunak, who is MP for Richmond, North Yorks, also claimed to be one of the “most northern” PMs of recent years.
"I'm probably one of the most Northern prime ministers that we've had in a while, as someone who understands the issues,” said Mr Sunak, who went to Winchester College, Hants, and Oxford University.
"That is my life - when I'm back home in and around Teesside, I take it personally. It's very personal to me that we deliver for people wherever they're living in the UK.”
While the threat to the Tory majority at the next general election, due by January 25, 2025, has focused on Red Wall voters who deserted Labour in 2019 and propelled Boris Johnson to No10, Conservative insiders also fear Lib Dem attacks on their southern shire heartlands - and losing support in the West Country.
Mr Sunak told the Mirror he wanted people everywhere, not just the North, to benefit from government policies.
“It's not just about the North, actually. It's about people wherever they happen to grow up. Actually - equally - if you're growing up in a village in the rural South West, I equally want you to feel that this is a Government that's delivering for you,” he claimed.
"Levelling-up to me means exactly that, it means that wherever you grow up and live in the UK, that you've got fantastic opportunities to do everything you want to do in life and that you have enormous pride in the place that you call home - that's it.
"But that should apply equally whether you're in the North or in a rural village in the South West - people everywhere should have the same opportunities and pride, but that is absolutely what we are delivering."