This week, I spoke in Parliament regarding the HS2 phase 2 cancellation and the Northern Powerhouse Rail project.
I believe that generations to come will look back at this period of our history, when the Prime Minister woke up one morning and decided to cancel HS2, with regret and see it as a missed opportunity to really invest in the future of our country. Rishi Sunak, on a whim, ripped up over a decade of Conservative promises to deliver High Speed Rail to Greater Manchester through a high-speed line from London and has since dragged his feet about providing a high-speed line across the major cities of the North.
The double standards on display are shameful. Yes, the proposed £12 billion of investment in rail from Manchester to Liverpool is of course welcomed but London didn’t have to choose between HS2 and the Elizabeth line that cost £19 billion. If London doesn’t have to choose, why on earth should the north of England have to choose on the same basis?
We can create a multi-model public transport service that constituents of mine deserve, one that can revitalise local investment and reignite community ownership – ensuring the North is no longer undersold by their government. In the end, if London didn’t have to choose between its sub-regional investment and its national investment, why on earth should the north of England have to?
Jim McMahon OBE MP 