PM warned: Don’t ditch key HS2 rail link to the North
MPs to push Johnson over axe fears for eastern leg
BORIS Johnson heads to Manchester for the first full-on conference for two years.
It will likely be overshadowed by the looming gas pricefuelled cost-of-living crisis, petrol shortages and fears of empty supermarket shelves in the run-up to Christmas.
There are also worries of a spike in coronavirus cases as temperatures fall and people spend more time indoors.
The past two years have been a rollercoaster for the PM. But for activists, this is the leader whose personal faults were well-documented before they overwhelmingly propelled him to power.
But while preaching to the fanatical blue choir in the North West, he would do well to remember the millions of ordinary Britons who fear for their family budgets as the nights shorten.
BORIS Johnson will be urged not to ditch a vital leg of the HS2 rail link for the North.
As the Tories gather at the heart of the “Northern Powerhouse” for their annual conference in Manchester, red wall MPs are expected to push for the eastern section of the project to go ahead.
But there are growing fears the leg from Birmingham to Leeds will be scrapped in a cost review.
Regional
Tories will pile pressure on the PM at a Northern Powerhouse Partnership event on Monday. NPP director Henri Murison said: “Vague promises that the eastern leg will be delivered at some point in the distant future are not good enough.
“We need to start building the eastern leg of HS2 from the North, bringing jobs, investment and connectivity benefits to cities such as
Leeds sooner.” Shadow Transport Secretary Jim McMahon added: “Travelling between Bradford and Leeds takes longer now than it did a century ago. When is this Government going to make good on its commitments to the North and deliver HS2, both sides of the Pennines?”
Experts believe No10 could opt for cheaper replacements or upgrades to existing lines, as part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail scheme.
But ministers insist the project will go ahead.
NPR will link Newcastle, Leeds, Hull, Sheffield, Manchester and Liverpool. The official budget for HS2 is £98billion, but a review last year warned costs could spiral to at least £106bn.
A Department for Transport spokesman said the Integrated Rail Plan will “soon outline exactly” how the project will shape up.
The main conference is at Manchester Central with the Midland Hotel as a hub.