Rishi Sunak has said that funds for the axed HS2 section will be ‘reallocated’ as transport funding to be shared across regional councils as he holds a Cabinet meeting in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and Transport Secretary Mark Harper have had a “constructive” discussion about privately-funded alternatives to a scrapped section of HS2.
Labour members have voted in favour of building HS2 in full after Sir Keir Starmer failed to commit to reversing the decision to scrap the northern leg of the high-speed line.
Reopening the Leamside Line has been removed from the initial list of projects for Rishi Sunak’s Network North programme just 24 hours after the announcement.
Paying off contracts previously awarded for cancelled HS2 sections will cost hundreds of millions of pounds, Transport Secretary Mark Harper has indicated.
It would be “irresponsible” to keep putting money into the HS2 project in the face of rising costs, a Cabinet minister has said as Rishi Sunak reportedly considered scrapping the Birmingham to Manchester leg of the route.