Tories 'making North pay for failure' as HS2 leg to Manchester could be axed
Tory ministers have been accused of "making the North pay for their failure" amid reports Rishi Sunak is poised to scrap the second stage of the HS2 rail project.
No10 refused to guarantee the beleaguered high-speed railway line would run to Manchester as promised amid spiralling costs and delays. The first phase from London to Birmingham is underway but the planned leg to Leeds has already been ditched, with the eastern spur set to end in the East Midlands. Now the plans to connect Birmingham and Manchester appears to be in doubt.
Documents seen by The Independent showed the Prime Minister and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are holding discussions about scrapping the northern phase of HS2, despite already spending £2.3billion on the Birmingham-Manchester section. Ditching the project could reportedly save up to £34billion but the cash that's already been spent is unlikely to be recoverable.
The planned HS2 routeThe Prime Minister's official spokesman said "spades are already in the ground on our HS2 programme and we're focused on delivering it" but would not promise the line would go to Manchester. "I can't comment on speculation around a leaked document. It is obviously standard process for departments to discuss the phasing of major projects like HS2... but the work is already under way," he said.
Asked if the PM was committed to the line going to Manchester, the spokesman said: "We are committed to HS2, to the project. I can't comment on the speculation that's a result of a photograph. We are, as you know, looking at the re-phasing of the work in the best interests of passengers and taxpayers."
HS2 in chaos as Tories won't deny £60bn rail scheme may not run to London Euston
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham expressed fury at the betrayal, which he said meant the North was left with "Victorian infrastructure" with the South of England enjoys modern infrastructure. He tweeted: "Levelling up? My a**e. The Government is guilty of gross mismanagement of HS2 and of making the North pay for their failure. Once again, passengers here are seen as second-class citizens."
Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh said: "The Conservatives crashed the economy and now they want the North to pay the price. Their chaotic mismanagement has hit jobs, harmed growth, and cost taxpayers even more."
Henri Murison, Chief Executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said scaling back the project would do "serious damage" to the Government's relationship with business, who have made long-term investment plans based on their promises.
He said: “Cancelling Phase 2b would also make it impossible to improve east-west connectivity across the North as promised in the Integrated Rail plan. It would remove the most critical remaining section of Northern Powerhouse Rail between Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport which is vital for getting passengers from Liverpool across the Pennines. Given that Phase 1, the most expensive bit of the route, is already underway and that the strongest benefit-cost ratios are found in the Northern sections, it makes no sense to stop now."
A spokesperson for the High Speed Rail Group said scrapping phase two would be a "disaster" for the North and the Midlands and the "ultimate U-turn". The spokesperson added: "The Government needs to kill the speculation and make its intentions clear, and it ought to commit clearly and unambiguously to delivering the project as planned. The 30,000 people delivering HS2 deserve this. Our future generations deserve this. The North and Midlands deserve this."
* Follow Mirror Politics on,, and.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
