Build HS2 as promised, north's leaders tell No 10

Northern leaders have called on No 10 to honour promises to build the HS2 high-speed rail line, as ministers repeatedly refused to confirm that it would run to Manchester.

- Gwyn Topham, Ben Quinn

Doubts over the future of the multibillion-pound project are growing after the junior transport minister Richard Holden dodged a number of questions in the Commons.

Reports at the weekend said the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, was set on cutting HS2 short after the initial phase to Birmingham.

The Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, said the reports "beggared belief" after the promises of successive Conservative governments over the past 10 years.

Labour said it was "committed to delivering HS2 in full and maximising its economic benefits", after doubts were raised over its own policy.

The shadow transport secretary, Louise Haigh, said HS2 would provide a slower journey between London and Birmingham than current train services if the project were cut back.

Originally planned as a Y-shaped route between London and the north, HS2 has been cut back repeatedly amid ballooning costs, with the eastern leg to Leeds scrapped in 2021 and the Manchester leg delayed by a further two years in March.

The upper range of official costs is now put at about £71bn, in 2019 prices, excluding the unspecified northern leg, which could cost £8bn.

However, costs are believed to have risen substantially since then owing to high inflation. Lord Berkeley, a Labour peer and vice-chair of the Oakervee review of HS2 commissioned by Boris Johnson, said the estimated cost of the high-speed rail scheme was now about £180bn.

Haigh said: "Here we are yet again. 13 years of gross mismanagement and chaos coming home to roost. First they slashed Northern Powerhouse Rail, then they binned HS2 to Leeds, then they announced the line would terminate at Old Oak Common for years to come, and now it looks like they are considering cutting the north of England out in its entirety."