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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Josh Halliday and Jessica Murray

Pulling plug on HS2 ‘would be final nail in coffin for levelling up’

Cranes and other building equipment at a big construction site.
The HS2 construction site at Curzon Street in Birmingham. Rishi Sunak is considering scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the high-speed rail link. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Abandoning high-speed rail in the north of England would be an “appalling dereliction of responsibility” risking tens of thousands of jobs and “the final nail in the coffin” for levelling up, political and business leaders have warned.

Rishi Sunak is considering scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 despite a furious response from senior Conservatives and business chiefs.

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