Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt are in talks on axing the Manchester HS2 leg, according to a leaked document seen by the Independent.<\/p>\n
Intended to link London with the midlands and the north of England, HS2 has already been heavily scaled back from the original plans<\/a> over the years, with connections to York and Leeds discarded.<\/p>\n \u201cSuccessful delivery of the project appears to be unachievable. There are major issues with project definition, schedule, budget, quality and\/or benefits delivery, which at this stage do not appear to be manageable or resolvable. The project may need re-scoping and\/or its overall viability reassessed,\u201d said a recent\u00a0IPA report<\/a>.<\/p>\n A spokesman for the prime minister responded that the government\u00a0“is committed to HS2, to the project. I can\u2019t comment on the speculation that\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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,\u201d said a spokesman for the High Speed Rail Group. \u201cThe 30,000 people delivering HS2<\/a> deserve this. Our future generations deserve this. The North and Midlands deserve this.\u201d<\/p>\n Henri Murison, chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said any decision to curtail plans would cause \u201cserious damage\u201d to the Government\u2019s relationship with \u201cboth Northern-based businesses and inward investors\u201d and said \u201cit makes no sense to stop now\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cCancelling phase 2b would also make it impossible to improve east-west connectivity across the North as promised in the Integrated Rail Plan,\u201d he said. \u201cIt would remove the most critical remaining section of Northern Powerhouse Rail between Manchester Piccadilly<\/a> and Manchester Airport, which is vital for getting passengers from Liverpool across the Pennines.<\/p>\n \u201cOur country\u2019s inability to deliver infrastructure, whether it\u2019s hospitals or rail lines, is a huge problem for raising productivity long term and our global reputation. The shadow chancellor has already committed to treating day-to-day spending differently to capital spending to support long-term economic growth \u2013 the Government should do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham’s take on the news was scathing, decrying the treatment of northern passengers as\u00a0“second-class citizens”:<\/p>\n It\u2019s coming up 10 years since Osborne\u2019s \u201cNorthern Powerhouse\u201d speech and the Tories are set to scrap the last of his rail pledges.<\/p>\n The result?<\/p>\n The southern half of England gets a modern rail system and the North left with Victorian infrastructure.<\/p>\n Levelling up?<\/p>\n My a**e.<\/p>\n 1\/2 https:\/\/t.co\/6gD8bZ9nxa<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) September 14, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nConcerns have been raised about HS2’s feasibility for years<\/h3>\n
Northern voices were outraged<\/h3>\n
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