Rishi Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt are currently “in talks” over scrapping the proposed second leg of HS2, cutting travel to Manchester out of the plans.
No.10 have deemed the second leg of HS2, which includes the route from Birmingham to Manchester, too costly in a meeting earlier this week, reported The Independent.
The second leg of HS2 has already cost £2.3bn despite little construction progress. According to government cost estimates scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester route could save the government up to £34bn.
With concerns over the plans, Manchester City Council asked Downing Street “to provide assurances that the Birmingham-Manchester leg of HS2 is going ahead.”
They stressed “tens of thousands of jobs’ and millions of pounds rely on its certainty”.
This morning, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham tweeted: “It’s coming up 10 years since Osborne’s “Northern Powerhouse” speech and the Tories are set to scrap the last of his rail pledges. The result? The southern half of England gets a modern rail system and the North left with Victorian infrastructure. Levelling up? My a**e.”
It’s coming up 10 years since Osborne’s “Northern Powerhouse” speech and the Tories are set to scrap the last of his rail pledges.
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) September 14, 2023
The result?
The southern half of England gets a modern rail system and the North left with Victorian infrastructure.
Levelling up?
My a**e.
1/2 https://t.co/6gD8bZ9nxa
The Eastern Leg of the project was previously scrapped. The plan included a shorter high speed line planned to link Birmingham to the East Midlands and Manchester to Leeds. If the second leg is scrapped, the plans to Leeds will also be impacted and potentially also cut.
According to reports, the Conservative government are eager to cut spending before they face the polls in the upcoming General Election. On the opposition benches, Labour reports that it remains committed to finishing the project in full.
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Main image: Boris Johnson HS2 Visit ©Number 10 and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence. Via Flickr.
