Rishi Sunak has finally confirmed he will scrap the HS2 rail link to Manchester in his speech at the Tory Party conference – weeks afterThe Independent first revealed secret talks to axe the northern leg of the line.
In his keynote speech, the prime minister claimed he is the political leader to take the tough decisions necessary for the good of the country, while also accusing Labour of wanting “power for the sake of power” and being “everything that is wrong with our politics”.
Those remarks followed Suella Braverman’s fiery speech, which drew comparisons to Enoch Powell for claiming a “hurricane” of immigration would sweep across Britain, with senior Tory MP Alicia Kearns warning the home secretary had “crossed the line”.
The PM also announced he was replacing A levels with an “Advanced British Standard” qualifications system, and will follow New Zealand in tabling plans to raise the smoking age each year so that a 14-year-old today will never be able to legally buy cigarettes in Britain.
