Large sections of the HS2 route are set to be delayed in a Tory betrayal of northern voters.
The government is today expected to announce a delay that will impact the line between Birmingham and Crewe, and between Crewe and Manchester.
The cost of the project has been blamed, just days before Chancellor Jeremy Hunt unveils his budget - and it has already sparked a backlash.
Furious Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant said his constituency had been "blighted" and questioned whether the Government would "make good the damage already done".
It comes just days after Labour called on the Tories to get the project moving amid rumours it could be derailed.
Tory Mr Fabriacant, whose constituency contains around 19 miles of the HS2 route, said: "I shall be asking the Government whether this delay marks the end of HS2 north of Birmingham for good and whether HS2 will make good the damage already done in southern Staffordshire.
"Simply saying the project is delayed is not good enough. The area has been blighted by whole fields turned into construction sites.
Pointing to damage in the area, he said: "Will these sites now be abandoned or completed? If they are to be abandoned, will there be remedial work to restore the countryside? And what of compensation for my constituents who have had their lives and businesses wrecked by the construction work?"
Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said the reported decision to delay part of the route represents "another betrayal of the Midlands and the North, making a mockery of the Government's empty promises to level up the UK economy".
The Labour councillor said in a video message posted on Twitter: "HS2 has the potential to deliver economic growth across the country, but it is being undermined by the Government at every turn.
"We will only truly see the full benefits of HS2 when Birmingham and the Midlands are at the very heart of a national network.
"So another delay represents a massive blow to this once-in-a-generation opportunity to re-balance the UK economy."
Just last week the Tories were urged to “get on” with HS2 as Labour promised the railway would be built in full under Keir Starmer.
Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh launched a furious attack on repeated claims the project will be further scaled back or delayed.
She said flip-flopping over the £106billion project - originally due to run from London to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham - was unleashing fresh uncertainty across the North.
“Every week a new story is briefed about ministers getting cold feet and plans to slash it further still,” she told the Transport for the North conference in Newcastle.
“As anyone who has delivered major projects will tell you, short-sighted decisions and delays only add cost in the long-run, limit the business case and curtail the ambition of the North.
“I say to government ministers, ‘Get on with it, stop wasting taxpayers’ money and deliver what the North has been promised - and if you can’t or won’t, Labour will’.”
S2 Ltd chief executive Mark Thurston recently said the impact on the project from inflation has been "significant", adding to the cost of building materials, labour, fuel and energy.
"We're looking at the timing of the project, the phasing of the project, we're looking at where we can use our supply chain to secure a lot of those things that are costing us more through inflation," he told the BBC.
In October last year, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the forecast for when HS2's phases would be complete remained within planned ranges.
That involved Phase One - connecting London with Birmingham - opening between 2029 and 2033.
Services will initially start and end at Old Oak Common, west London, due to delays at Euston.
Mr Harper said Phase 2a - extending the line from Birmingham to Crewe - was "on track" to be completed between 2030 and 2034.
The date range for the western leg of Phase 2b - connecting Crewe with Manchester - remained between 2035 and 2041, the Cabinet minister added.
The eastern leg of this phase will run from the West Midlands to the East Midlands. A planned extension to Leeds was shelved in November 2021.
HS2 has been dogged by criticism over its finances. A budget of £55.7 billion for the whole of the project was set in 2015. But the target cost of Phase One alone has spiralled to £40.3 billion at 2019 prices.
Tory MP Simon Clarke, former chief secretary to the Treasury, said: "This would be a sensible decision.
"Having observed HS2's progress as chief secretary, I have serious doubts as to value for money and cost control."
