Rishi Sunak has finally announced that HS2’s northern leg will be scrapped, weeks after The Independent first revealed he would axe the landmark high-speed rail project.
The prime minister was met with howls of outrage from northern leaders, business chiefs and senior Tories, after he used his Tory conference speech to confirm the Birmingham to Manchester route will be axed.
In a rare intervention, former Tory PM David Cameron attacked Mr Sunak’s decision on HS2 – saying he had “thrown away fifteen years of cross-party consensus” and made future infrastructure projects much harder.
The PM managed to avoid the resignation of the Tories’ popular West Midlands mayor Andy Street, who said he was “disappointed” but said keeping the HS2 link into Euston station was a “good compromise”.
Mr Sunak revealed HS2 would still run into Euston as part of the London to Birmingham leg – but it sparked accusations that he has betrayed the levelling up agenda by prioritising the south over the north.
The Tory leader said the government would re-invest £36bn from the high-speed rail project in a series of road and rail schemes across the country, hoping it is enough to fend off a rebellion by red wall Tory MPs.
The news comes as:
- Cameron said Sunak had made it harder for UK to do major projects
- Labour mayor Andy Burnham fumes at Sunak for ‘tearing up’ HS2
- Top Tory Andy Street says he considered quitting party
- Rail bosses hope Labour can revive the project in government
- Sunak challenged Labour to say if they would scrap his alternatives
The Independent last month revealed secret HS2 talks on scrapping the northern leg between Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt – codenamed Project Redwood – were happening in a bid to save £34bn. No 10 repeatedly stonewalled on our story before ministers eventually admitted discussions were taking place.
Downing Street said Mr Sunak made the final decision on HS2 on Wednesday morning – but his video clip explaining the move appeared to have been filmed in No 10, prior to his trip the Manchester conference.
Rishi Sunak said money better spent on other projects— (PA)
Finally confirming the axe on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said ballooning costs were to blame and action was needed as the “facts have changed”.
The PM said: “I am ending this long-running saga. I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project and in its place, we will reinvest every single penny, £36bn, in hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands, across the country,” he said.
Mr Sunak also challenged Labour to say if they would cancel his new projects in a bid to revive HS2. “Those who wish to disagree with me, I respect that. But they should have the honesty to admit that they would now be cancelling the hundreds of alternative projects.”
He promised upgrades to the A1, A2, A5, and M6 roads, electrification of the North Wales mainline, a new station at Bradford, the expansion of the West Midlands metro, and a tram for Leeds.
But transport sources say such projects could be years or even decades away given the bulk of funding for HS2’s northern phase was allocated well into future parliaments.
Mr Cameron led the criticism, saying Mr Sunak had made the “wrong decision” and would “fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long-term as a country”.
Former PM David Cameron said Sunak had made a big mistake— (PA)
The ex-Tory leader added: “Today’s announcement throws away fifteen years of cross-party consensus, sustained over six administrations, and will make it much harder to build consensus for any future long-term projects … I suspect many will look back at today’s announcement and wonder how this once-in-a-generation opportunity was lost.”
Conservative West Midlands mayor Andy Street – who won’t resign from the party in protest, but admitted he had thought about it – had warned the PM he was about to make “an incredible political gaffe” and warned Labour would say the Tories had “shafted” the north.
Mr Street later said he was disappointed to have “lost” HS2’s northern leg, but called the link to Euston a “good compromise”. Said to be furious at the PM’s decision, he told the BBC: “I did consider whether I should continue as a member of the Conservative party. I have decided that I will continue.”
Tory mayor Andy Street admits he ‘lost’ argument with Sunak— (PA)
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said it “cannot be right” to ditch HS2’s northern leg. “I don’t see how you can take a plan … and basically tear it up at a party conference,” he told reporters. “I think the city deserved more respect.”
The Labour mayor said Mr Sunak’s place to provide replacement funding for east-west links was not “coherent” and “does not deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail in full”. The Labour mayor said it was “not a solution” and was only “patching up” existing links.
Manchester City Council leader Bev Craig also said much of the replacement funding Mr Sunak announced was “rehashed”. She said the north did not want to be “hoodwinked in the promise of more cash … without it ever being realistic”.
Transport secretary Mark Harper said that some of the money would be available “sooner rather than later”, adding: “Of course, it's not all going to be available next year to spend, but it was never going to be spent all next year on HS2.”
Northern leaders were angry at the cancellation of a stretch of HS2 from Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Airport that would also be used as part of Northern Powerhouse Rail, the east-west rail projects.
In his speech, Mr Sunak vowed to “protect” £12bn of funding earmarked for a link from Manchester to Liverpool and speak to local leaders about how it should be spent.
Mr Sunak rebuffed Mr Street’s idea of getting major companies such as Siemens, Arup and EY to pay for some of phase 2 to Manchester. The Independent understands that the Tory mayor said the private sector could have stumped up £20bn to save the northern leg.
Andy Burnham says Sunak did not show enough ‘respect’ to Manchester— (PA Wire)
But in other news for the project, the PM claimed he would be able to get a grip on the escalating costs of the Euston station redevelopment by taking that aspect of the project out of the control of HS2 Ltd.
Mr Sunak said he would instead “create a new Euston development zone building thousands of new homes for the next generation of homeowners”.
One northern transport source told The Independent: “They clearly haven’t thought about the politics of giving London a stay of execution but cutting Manchester. I can think of half a dozen Tory MPs who might as well quit now.”
Axing HS2’s northern route has also been opposed by former prime ministers – Boris Johnson, Theresa May and Mr Cameron – as well as former chancellors George Osborne and Philip Hammond. Mr Johnson said it would be “utter madness”.
Senior officials involved in the delivery of HS2 are pushing to save the legislation needed to keep building high-speed rail in the hope that a Labour government could revive HS2’s northern leg if it wins power in 2024.
Andy Bagnall, chief executive of Rail Partners, which represents rail operators, said the decision would have "consequences felt for generations by the rail industry, its supply chain, passengers and freight customers".
And Sir John Peace, chair of transport authority Midlands Connect, said: “We are disappointed and disheartened by the HS2 announcement. “We must not start from scratch, we must work at pace to deliver HS2 Phase 1 all the way to Euston. There are also lessons to be learnt from the HS2 story so far.”
Trade unions also blasted the move and accused Mr Sunak of “putting the country in the slow lane”. RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “The Conservative government is playing political games ahead of an election and instead of investing properly in Britain's public transport and high-speed future.”
Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow transport secretary blasted the government's “broken promises” and said the project had become a “colossal symbol of Conservative failure”. She added: “This staggering Tory fiasco has seen costs soar, and the north and Midlands are left to pay the price.”
