Khan and Burnham urge Sunak not to make further HS2 cuts

Labor mayors (from left) Andy Burnham, Tracey Brabin, Sadiq Khan, Steve Rotheram and Oliver Coppard make a joint appeal to Rishi Sunak no further cuts to HS2 Photo: Danny Lawson/PA

Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham were among five Labor mayors calling on Rishi Sunak not to cut further HS2 rail services.

The Prime Minister is in danger. political reaction to reports he is considering closing the Birmingham-Manchester section of HS2 amid soaring costs.

On Tuesday, Chris Philp, the home secretary, said Mr Sunak was considering , how the cost of HS2 can be 'controlled', but no decision has yet been made on whether to cut or delay the northern part of the project.

Labor mayors Mr Burnham, Mr Khan, Tracey Brabin, Oliver Coppard and Steve Rotheram met in Leeds on Wednesday. In a joint statement they called for HS2 to be spared further cuts.

London Mayor Khan is expected to speak at a Transport for the North board meeting about the benefits of the project for London. and South-East.

Reports say Mr Sunak has been warned that the price tag for HS2 could top £100 billion, although ministers have paused parts of the project and abandoned the Leeds site.

What should the government do about HS2?

Mr Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said scrapping the project would be “a decision of epic proportions for our part of the world”.

However, in a letter to Mr Sunak, he and Bev Craig, leader of the city council Manchester have also said they are willing to discuss delaying the northern section of HS2 if the government commits to building an east-west route.

< p>«If you are adamant about changes to the scheme, we might be open to discussing the priority of the northern section of the line, between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly, so that this would allow NPR [Northern Powerhouse Rail] to be built first,» they wrote.

“We believe the north of England needs new north-south and east-west rail infrastructure and should not be forced to choose between them in the same way that London was not forced to choose.”

Meanwhile, several senior Conservatives, including George Osborne, the former chancellor, and Lord Heseltine, the former deputy prime minister, warned that abandoning the Manchester portion of HS2 would be a «gross act of vandalism» and would «abandon» the North and Midlands.< /p>

Mr Sunak may now delay announcing a decision until his autumn statement in November. There were fears that the details emerging this week would cast a shadow over the Conservative party conference, which starts in Manchester on Sunday.

There are signs he may announce a series of improvements to regional transport as part of his efforts. to limit political fallout, including the construction of the Northern Power Station between Manchester and Leeds.

Runaway train — estimated cost of HS2

Downing Street said there was a precedent for delaying the implementation of some aspects of the high-speed rail scheme due to «pressure affordability», indicating high inflation.

In October, the government estimated the cost of the Manchester phase at £71 billion. In June it was reported that £22.5 billion had already been spent on the first phase to Birmingham, with around £2.3 billion earmarked for subsequent phases, including costs related to both labor and land.

All of these figures were calculated using 2019 prices and may have increased significantly due to inflation reflecting rising material costs and wages.