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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Helen Pidd North of England editor

Scrapping Manchester leg of HS2 holds political risks for Rishi Sunak

HS2 ​​Rishi Sunak Manchester Birmingham England Sir Keir Starmer Voter
HS2 projectUndated artist impression handout issued by HS2 of a early visualisation of HS2 trains.
If the Birmingham to Manchester section of HS2 is scrapped, what will the north of England have to show for 13 years of Conservative rule? Photograph: HS2/PA

It was on Halloween almost 10 years ago that MPs voted to spend £37.5bn on building a high-speed railway line from London to Birmingham, with spurs to Manchester and Leeds. Three hundred and fifty voted aye and 34 against.

Rishi Sunak did not follow the party whip that day; he was still working for a hedge fund in California. Nor did Keir Starmer. It was his last day as director of public prosecutions, and two years before he would be elected as a Labour MP. David Cameron was the prime minister and claimed the new railway lines would be finished by 2033.

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