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“I want to be the prime minister who does with Northern Powerhouse Rail what we did for Crossrail in London.”

Those were the words of Boris Johnson days after he entered Downing Street in 2019.

As people digest the contents of his government’s Integrated Rail Plan, there will be many people who will feel the prime minister has gone back on his word.

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New rail plan ‘a monumental achievement’

The proposed eastern leg of HS2, between Birmingham and Leeds, has been cut back.

High-speed services will run from Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway, around six miles south-east of Nottingham.

Trains will then continue to Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield on the existing mainline, which will be upgraded.

Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) has also been downgraded, with the plans delivered through a combination of new track and upgrades to existing infrastructure, rather than an entirely new line between Manchester and Leeds.

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A key focus of the PM’s policy agenda is the idea of “levelling up”, a broad concept that basically means investing in areas and improving infrastructure.

The justification from the government for these revised plans is that they will still cut journey times, but can be delivered much quicker than sticking to previous commitments to construct vast new infrastructure which won’t be finished for a decade or more.

But opposition politicians will claim the plans call into question the whole idea of “levelling up”.

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Starmer: ‘North of England has been betrayed’

They will argue that the focus on journey times does not tell the whole story and that the extra capacity the eastern leg of HS2 and the original NPR would have provided would have been just as transformative.

You can guarantee that the PM’s past comments on HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail will be raked over, providing fuel for election leaflets, campaign ads, media interviews and parliamentary exchanges.

This is a selection of Mr Johnson’s remarks on HS2 and NPR since he came into Number 10.

25 July 2019

Asked if he will “commit quickly” to NPR, the PM tells the Commons he is a “huge fan” of the idea.

“I went up to Manchester airport and saw the plan. It is a truly visionary and exciting plan, and I think we should definitely be doing it,” Mr Johnson said.

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2019: PM backs new high-speed northern rail route to ‘turbo charge’ growth

2019 Conservative Party manifesto

The Tories’ blueprint for government, published ahead of the December 2019 general election, stated: “We will build Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester and then focus on Liverpool, Tees Valley, Hull, Sheffield and Newcastle.”

The document was less definitive about the future of HS2, stating: “HS2 is a great ambition, but will now cost at least £81bn and will not reach Leeds or Manchester until as late as 2040.

“We will consider the findings of the Oakervee review into costs and timings and work with leaders of the Midlands and the North to decide the optimal outcome.”

29 January 2020

Asked about the need to increase capacity in the region by Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, Mr Johnson says “we are not only building Northern Powerhouse Rail and investing in the Midlands rail hub but, as he knows, we are looking into whether and how to proceed with HS2, and the House can expect an announcement very shortly”.

11 February 2020

The PM announces that HS2 will be going ahead in full, including the eastern leg from Leeds to Birmingham, following a review into the scheme amid worries about spiralling costs.

Appearing in the Commons to announce the findings of the review, he says: “This is about finally making a rapid connection from the West Midlands to the Northern Powerhouse – to Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds – and simultaneously permitting us to go forward with Northern Powerhouse Rail across the Pennines, finally giving the home of the railways the fast connections they need.”

In comments that, upon reading back, appear to be laying the track for the IRP (Integrated Rail Plan) announcements, the PM says he wants to “look at how we can best design and integrate rail investments throughout the North, including Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester”.

“I want the plan to identify the most effective design and sequencing of all relevant investments in the North,” Mr Johnson tells MPs.

He adds that HS2 and NPR will be “built as quickly and as cost-effectively as possible”.

But the PM continues: “Something has to change. Those who deny that – those who say that we should simply build phase 2b and Northern Powerhouse Rail according to the plans currently on the table – are effectively condemning the North to get nothing for 20 years.

“That would be intolerable, so as we draw up this plan, we are not asking whether it is phase 2b or not 2b.

“That is not the question; the question is how we can bring a transport revolution to the North sooner.”

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PM: HS2 ‘is a fantastic project’

Asked by Labour MP Lilian Greenwood for assurances that phase 2b (the eastern leg from Birmingham to Leeds) will not be “delayed further or downgraded to cut costs”, Mr Johnson replies: “Of course we are committed to phase 2b, but I think the honourable member will appreciate – given what has happened in the past 10 years with phase 1 – that it is vital that we use this inflection point to ensure that the taxpayer gets maximum value as we proceed.”

Asked by Leeds Central Labour MP Hilary Benn when the new HS2 station will open in the city, the PM tells him “we will get it going as soon as possible”.

4 November 2020

“I can certainly confirm that we are going ahead with Northern Powerhouse Rail.”

9 December 2020

“We are getting on with both the eastern leg of HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail.

“What I have asked the National Infrastructure Commission and Network Rail to look at is how those two projects can best be integrated to boost the economy of the whole of the north of the country.”

10 February 2021

“I can certainly confirm that we are going to develop the eastern leg as well as the whole of HS2.”

6 October 2021

“We will do Northern Powerhouse Rail, we will link up the cities of the Midlands and the North.”

3 November 2021

“The north-east will be the beneficiary of the biggest investment in our rail infrastructure beyond HS2 that we have seen for a century.

“We will be putting in about £96bn more, and we want the local and regional authorities to work with us to ensure that we promote the projects that the people really want.”

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France to become first G7 nation to recognise Palestine as a state

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France to become first G7 nation to recognise Palestine as a state

Emmanuel Macron has said France will recognise Palestine as a state later this year.

The French president announced the major change of policy in a letter to the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, which Mr Macron also published online on Thursday evening.

The French leader said he will make the formal announcement at the UN General Assembly, being held in September.

France will become the first G7 member to recognise a Palestinian state.

In his post explaining the decision, Mr Macron called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of the hostages and for much more humanitarian aid to reach those in the territory.

But Israel’s defence minister has called the French decision “a disgrace and a surrender to terrorism”.

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Sky’s international correspondent John Sparks, reports on the children in Gaza who are experiencing malnutrition, one child wishes for ‘life to go back to how it was.’

The move heaps pressure on France’s allies such as the UK, and Sir Keir Starmer insisted tonight that he is “clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people”.

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But the prime minister has resisted calls from within his own party to recognise Palestine immediately, as he views this as part of the peace process in Gaza.

Currently, half of the G20 recognise Palestine as a state, while nations including the UK, US, Germany and others do not.

But pressure has been growing on Sir Keir to change course, with senior Labour figures including the Mayor of London Sir Sadiq Khan publicly calling for a change in government policy.

Starmer: ‘We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe’

Just hours before Mr Macron’s announcement, Sir Keir said he would be holding an “emergency call” with the leaders of France and Germany over what he termed the “humanitarian catastrophe” happening in Gaza.

In some of the firmest language from the government yet, Sir Keir said that “the suffering and starvation unfolding in Gaza is unspeakable and indefensible”.

He went on to say that it has been “grave for some time”, but that it has now “reached new depths and continues to worsen”.

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The PM says that

Sir Keir said: “I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace.”

The PM added that “we all agree” on the need for Israel to “change course and allow aid that is desperately needed to enter Gaza without delay”.

He wrote: “It is hard to see a hopeful future in such dark times. But I must reiterate my call for all sides to engage in good faith, and at pace, to bring about an immediate ceasefire and for Hamas to unconditionally release all hostages.”

Across the globe, more than 140 countries recognise Palestine as a state.

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