HS2 to Manchester axed in favour of ‘Network North’

Published

2 years ago

October 5, 2023

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Rishi Sunak has confirmed the long-rumoured decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2 – a decision branded “wrong” by former prime minister David Cameron.

Reports the planned high speed rail line would end in Birmingham – rather than continuing up to Manchester – have been circling for weeks, with sources telling Sky News on Monday the decision had been made.

But the prime minister has spent days dodging the question, only making the announcement as he gave the closing speech to this year’s Conservative Party conference.

HS2 axe branded betrayal of the north – politics latest

Mr Cameron, who coined the phrase Northern Powerhouse alongside former chancellor George Osborne, swiftly criticised the decision, saying it was the “wrong one”.

The former prime minister said the move would “help to fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long-term as a country; that we are heading in the wrong direction”.

But Mr Sunak defended the move by promising to spend the billions of cash savings on hundreds of other transport schemes across the country instead.

They will include:

• The ‘Network North’ project to join up northern cities by rail

• A ‘Midlands Rail Hub’ to connect 50 stations

• Keeping the £2 bus fare cap across the country

But a number of the projects appear to have been announced before and critics have suggested Mr Sunak is reviving schemes he was responsible for cancelling.

HS2 will still go to Euston despite suggestions it could end in the west London suburb of Old Oak Common, rather than in the centre of the capital.

PM ‘ending this long-running saga’

Speaking from a former railway station in Manchester, where the Tories’ annual event was held this year, Mr Sunak told members getting infrastructure right was key to driving growth, but a “false consensus” had emerged, with projects “driven by cities at the exclusion of everywhere else”.

He said HS2 was “the ultimate example of the old consensus”, saying the cost had doubled and the “economic case” for the line had “massively weakened with the changes to business travel post-COVID”.

The prime minister added: “I say, to those who backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed.”

“So I am ending this long-running saga. I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project.”

Mr Sunak said scrapping phase two to Manchester would free up £36bn, and “every single penny” would be spent on “hundreds of new transport projects in the North and the Midlands, and across the country”.

But the government’s new “focus” would be on a project called Network North, which would “join up our great towns and cities in the North and the Midlands”.

The fully electrified line would see trains make the journey from Manchester to Hull in 84 minutes, to Sheffield in 42 minutes and Bradford in 30 minutes.

Irony of Rishi Sunak’s long-term vision is the short-term calculation behind it

He may have been prime minister for a year, but his speech to the Conservative Party conference in Manchester felt almost like the moment Rishi Sunak introduced himself for the first time.

A speech rich in announcements and packed with messages about Rishi the man and his values.

He and his team knew the speech would be critical to resetting his stuttering leadership.

And you could see that in the overarching theme he returned to throughout – whether it was his description of his childhood, his political priorities or the sort of leader he wants to be, the ultimate message was ‘take a look at me again’.

That theme is a tacit acknowledgement that after nearly a year in office, working tirelessly hard, there has been very little apparent change in the public’s appetite for the Conservative Party led by him.

This was the first, and perhaps the only chance, that Mr Sunak will get to lay the foundations of his leadership pitch before a general election.

Read Beth Rigby’s full analysis here

Listing other transport pledges, Mr Sunak said he would “protect” the £12bn project to link Manchester and Liverpool, build a tram in Leeds and upgrade the A1, A2, A5 and the M6.

He also promised to extend the West Midlands Metro, electrify the North Wales main line and 70 further road schemes.

‘Once in a generation opportunity lost’

Mr Cameron took aim at Mr Sunak rejecting the “consensus” that had built around HS2 and said the decision “throws away 15 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 regret this decision and in years to come I suspect many will look back at today’s announcement and wonder how this once-in-a-generation opportunity was lost,” he added.

Mr Cameron’s concerns were echoed by regional leaders including Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who said the HS2 announcement was “no way to treat our city when they are in our city”.

He said the government had not announced a “coherent plan” but a “transport plan patched together in hotel rooms at a party conference with no input with northern leaders or mayors”.

Mr Burnham went on to say the current plan would not solve the problem of bottlenecks and lack of capacity on the railway network in the north, which covers from Liverpool in the west to Hull in the east.

He also accused the government of failing to turn its transport pledges into reality and suggested that previous statements had been made “with political intentions in mind to try and win votes here”.

West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin called the decision “yet another betrayal of the North which will punish passengers and businesses alike”.

Mr Sunak accepted he would face criticism for the decision – having already been slammed by Tory grandees, regional politicians and businesses before the announcement was even made.

He addressed one critic in particular – the Tory mayor in the West Midlands, Andy Street – saying he was a man he had “huge admiration and respect for”, Mr Sunak added: “I know we have different views on HS2.

“But I know we can work together to ensure a faster, stronger spine: quicker trains and more capacity between Birmingham and Manchester.”

Sunak has rolled the dice

Tamara Cohen

Political correspondent

@tamcohen

Rishi Sunak’s speech was packed with policy – on banning smoking, replacing A-levels with a new qualification – though not for quite a few years – and of course the long awaited axing of HS2 to fund regional transport upgrades.

There were also some indications of campaign attacks on Labour – in particular with his references to trans issues, and Sir Keir Starmer’s previous positions on Brexit.

A year out from an election, these are long term plans that may never happen, if voters don’t want to keep the Conservatives in the short term.

But Sunak has rolled the dice on the idea his party can regenerate for the future.

Mr Street confirmed he would not resign from his post despite being “incredibly disappointed” about the HS2 decision.

He said he had “thought incredibly long and hard about what my future in the Conservative Party should be”, but had decided to remain a member.

“The West Midlands must be at the heart of the UK’s modern transport network and reap all the benefits that will bring,” he said.

“The prime minister has today reached out to work with me to make that happen and to turn my back on that offer would be doing a serious disservice to my region.”

Politics

Streeting tells BMA doctors’ union to ‘pick a side’ between Reform and Labour

Published

2 hours ago

September 30, 2025

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Streeting tells BMA doctors' union to 'pick a side' between Reform and Labour

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has told the BMA doctors’ union to “pick a side” between Reform and Labour over their pay dispute.

Mr Streeting, talking to Sky News political editor Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, said the Labour Party will always be on the side of the NHS, while Reform leader Nigel Farage would “check your credit card before your pulse”.

👉 Click here to listen to Electoral Dysfunction on your podcast app 👈

In July, resident doctors, previously known as junior doctors, went on strike over their pay and are threatening to strike again following years of walkouts under the previous Tory government.

In a preview of what his speech on Tuesday to the Labour Party conference will focus on, Mr Streeting said: “I’d say to the BMA, pick a side because you’ve got a choice here and there’s a government that wants to work with you.”

During a live recording of Electoral Dysfunction at the conference in Liverpool, he added: “What I’ve said to the BMA is the NHS is hanging by a thread, don’t pull it.

“It wouldn’t be in the interest of the BMA – there isn’t a more pro-doctor, pro-NHS government waiting in the wings.”

He mentioned Mr Farage’s plan to introduce health insurance, adding: “The BMA should really think about this in terms of their members.”

Mr Farage has also pledged to abolish indefinite leave to remain and put in place a minimum salary of £60,000 for skilled worker visas.

The health secretary said that would be “shooting ourselves in the foot” when it comes to NHS staff.

“Farage says ‘go home’, the Labour Party says ‘this is your home and with us this will always be your home’,” he said.

Lib Dems are ‘frenemies’

Mr Streeting said he thinks there will be lots of disaffected Conservative voters who do not want to see Reform in government, and said they are “welcome to get behind us”.

He added some of those voters will support the Lib Dems, who he called “frenemies” of Labour – “some days they’re friends, some days they’re enemies” – but said “we have a common enemy in Reform”.

We need Burnham on the pitch

Mr Streeting also addressed the potential of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham challenging Sir Keir Starmer for his premiership.

He said he thought Mr Burnham claiming there is a “culture of fear” within the Labour Party “was an overstatement”.

Asked if the mayor is a team player, Mr Streeting said: “On his best days, yes.”

But he said recently “he’s had his ups and downs”.

However, he added: “I think the thing about Andy, he’s one of our star players, and we need him on the pitch.”

Politics

Starmer to pit Labour against Reform in conference closing speech

Published

5 hours ago

September 29, 2025

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Starmer to pit Labour against Reform in conference closing speech

Sir Keir Starmer will say Britain stands at a fork in the road as he pits Labour against Reform in his conference closing speech.

The prime minister will use his address at 2pm on Tuesday to say the UK can choose decency or division, renewal or decline, be in control of the future or succumb “to the politics of grievance”.

“It is a test,” he is expected to tell the second autumn Labour conference of his premiership.

“A fight for the soul of our country, every bit as big as rebuilding Britain after the war, and we must all rise to this challenge.

“And yet we need to be clear that our path, the path of renewal, it’s long, it’s difficult, it requires decisions that are not cost-free or easy. Decisions – that will not always be comfortable for our party.”

Sir Keir will say “at the end of this hard road there will be a new country”, which he will put forward as fairer and “a land of dignity and respect”.

He will promise that everybody will be seen and valued, wealth will be created “in every community”, and working people will be in control of public services.

The “mindless bureaucracy that choked enterprise” will be removed “so we can build and keep on building”, the PM will pledge.

He will say that he believes Britain “can come together” despite people telling him it cannot.

“We can pursue a shared destination,” he is expected to say.

“We can unite around a common good. That’s my ambition, the purpose of this government. End decline, reform our public services, grow our economy from the grassroots.”

The conference has been dominated by a sharpening of language and policies in reaction to Reform, which has been leading in the polls for a while.

The latest Ipsos poll, published on Sunday, had the two parties neck and neck, with 38% saying they would prefer a Labour government led by Sir Keir and 35% for Reform led by Nigel Farage.

Ahead of Sir Keir’s final speech, cabinet members will also address the conference.

Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin and Health Secretary Wes Streeting will all make speeches ahead of the PM.

On Monday, 10 cabinet ministers addressed the conference from the main stage, including Chancellor Rachel Reeves, who argued that Reform presents a threat to the British economy.