Sunak 'new Thatcher' as HS2 faces the axe

PM EXPECTED TO ANNOUNCE £30BN TRANSPORT PACKAGE

- SAM BLEWETT & TODD FITZGERALD

RISHI Sunak – widely expected to announce the axing of the Manchester leg of HS2 when he takes to the stage at the Conservative Party Conference today – will criticise decades of politicians making ‘the easy decision, not the right one’.

It is predicted he will announce a package of transport measures – improving roads, buses and trains – reported to be worth up to £30bn to soften the blow. The big spending promise is likely to placate bitterly disappointed northerners.

But the prime minister will rail against post-Thatcher politics for focusing on quick fixes. He will attempt to portray himself as a radical reformer prepared to abandon the northern leg of HS2, the PA news agency reports.

It comes amid reports the northern leg WILL be scrapped.

The HS2 line will stop at Birmingham, where trains will continue to Manchester on the existing West Coast Mainline track, according to Sky News.

The outlet reported the line will start in central London at Euston, rather than Old Oak Common, but between Birmingham and Manchester, trains will not be highspeed.

Reacting to those reports, Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham tweeted: “So, in other words, HS2 won’t go to Manchester and people in the North will be treated as second-class citizens – again? What a disgrace.”

The PM will use his speech at Manchester Central to criticise 30 years of incentivising ‘the easy decision, not the right one’.