Rishi Sunak allowed speculation about the HS2 rail link to fester throughout his party’s conference – before axing the Manchester leg of the route

IT’S unclear what the communications strategy was, but prime minister Rishi Sunak allowed the Conservative Party conference to be dominated by his decision to axe the Manchester part of the HS2 line.

In a get-together which was meant to set out a stall for winning a fifth term and galvanise members on the ground, he repeatedly said in interviews that a final decision on the fate of the £100billion project had not been taken.

Off the screen, the briefing was clear: the Manchester section would never be built. Broadcast journalists prickled with irritation as then, contrary to what he had previously said on air, he announced exactly that and had a large policy document ready for release.

This is the action plan which confirms the line will go to Euston but the government will try to raid the land for £6.5billion to spend on infrastructure projects in northern areas where residents are now angry that their section of HS2 will not be constructed.

Mr Sunak said in his speech from the conference stage in Manchester yesterday (Wednesday): “A false consensus has taken root that all that matters are links between our big conurbations. This consensus said that our national economic regeneration should be driven by cities at the exclusion of everywhere else.

“It said that the most important connection those cities could have was to London, and not anywhere else. And it said that the only links that mattered were north to south; not east to west. What we really need, though, is better transport connections in the north.”

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After confirming the cancellation of the Manchester link, he added: “For the first time in the life cycle of this project – we will have cut costs. The £6.5billion of savings we are making will be taken from the Euston site and given to the rest of country.

“The decision I have made and the stance I am taking will be attacked. They will say that halting it signals a lack of ambition. There will be people I respect, people in our own party, who will oppose it.

“But there is nothing ambitious about simply pouring more and more money into the wrong project. There is nothing long-term about ignoring your real infrastructure needs so you can spend an ever larger amount on one grand project.”

Other announcements included an education overhaul which would spell the end of A-levels and rising age limits on buying cigarettes. Former prime minister David Cameron was raging at the cuts to HS2.

“It will make it much harder to build consensus for any future long-term projects,” he said, referring to the fact both the Tories and Labour believed HS2 was worth the gigantic spending and decades of building work.

“All across the world, we see transformative, long-term infrastructure projects completed or under way. They show countries on the rise, building for future generations, thinking big and getting things done.” \

Lord Andrew Adonis, the unelected Labour peer who came up with the idea for the railway, sounded heartbroken.

“The HS2 decision is terribly wrong. 15 years of infrastructure planning to transform connectivity between Britain’s three largest cities and regions, with cross-party agreement spanning six governments, is being ripped up after spending £45billion,” he said.

“Sunak is telling a fairy tale about costs and savings. Now HS2 goes to Euston, most of its intercity trains will use HS2 and face a chronic bottleneck beyond Birmingham.” Unite, which has supported HS2, said it was now time for Sir Keir Starmer to announced that he would reverse Mr Sunak’s

cut. “The government hokey-cokey with major infrastructure projects is now undermining investment and destroying any credibility for their claims about rebalancing the economy,” said general secretary Sharon Graham.

“The Labour Party must now seize this golden opportunity to stand up for workers and communities in the north of England by making a clear commitment to build both the Manchester and Leeds spurs of HS2.”

Last month, Mr Starmer said he wanted to see Mr Sunak make up his mind on the future of HS2, but his party has not committed to restoring any legs axed by the Conservatives.

Andy Burnham, the Labour mayor of Greater Manchester, who appeared at a fringe event at this conference, said: “It always seems that people here where I live and where I kind of represent can be treated as second class citizens when it comes to transport.”

When leader of the Green Party and a parliamentary candidate in Holborn and St Pancras, Baroness Natalie Bennett repeatedly forecast yesterday’s events. She told the New Journal as long ago as 2014 that HS2 would never be built in full.

“It’s a simple point, and that’s after the next election, whenever who­ever the next chancellor is takes a look at the books, they will go: ‘Oh, how do I make this add up?’,” she said back then. “The investment should be going into the local infrastructure, into their local train and bus services instead.”