Keir Starmer won't bring HS2 back to life

The decision to abandon Labour's 2019 manifesto pledge to complete HS2 puts Sir Keir on a collision course with MPs and campaigners. Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images

Sir Keir Starmer will not build the second phase of HS2 if he wins the next general election.

The Labor leader said on Thursday he would stick with Rishi Sunak's plan to harness the savings , obtained by relinquishing part of the high-speed rail project to fund improvements to rail and other transportation in the North.

The decision to scrap Labour's 2019 manifesto to complete HS2 puts Sir Keir at odds with MPs and campaigners.

It is also set to fuel criticism that the party lacks ambition under his leadership since then as he pledged to maintain a number of government policies.

Speaking to ITV Regional News, Sir Keir said the Prime Minister's decision to cancel HS2 contracts and the release of land earmarked for the Birmingham to Manchester phase of the project meant that he could not renew it.

“Now, can I stand here and commit to reversing the HS2 decision? No, I can’t,” he said.

“They just interfered with this project. They've blown a huge hole in it and are about to start terminating contracts, clearing land, reconfiguring Euston.

“I can't stand here after they've blown such a big hole in their plans and say that I I'll just change them. What I can say is build Northern Powerhouse Rail — yes, we will continue with that.»

Northern Powerhouse Rail will provide a high speed service between Liverpool and Leeds, as well as an upgraded line from Manchester to Leeds. Hull via Sheffield

With the Labor Party conference starting on Sunday, Sir Keir is having to implement radical policies to secure his lead in the polls ahead of the next general election, expected to take place next year.

The first policy proposal unveiled by the leader on Thursday evening was a scheme to teach young children in school how to brush their teeth.

Under the proposals, children aged three to five from areas with the worst rates of tooth decay would take part in supervised brushing sessions.

Sir Keir has pledged to fund an extra 700,000 emergency dental visits a year using money raised from the removal of non-resident tax status.

He called the decision to scrap HS2 a «fiasco» and added: «Billions of pounds.» sank, and has now lost the promises made to many people about what the benefits would be.»

He also pledged not to cut any of the new rail and road projects Mr Sunak unveiled in his Tory conference speech on Wednesday. which are being funded by savings made from the HS2 cuts.

“If there are projects that the government has said it will go ahead with, we will obviously go ahead with them,” he said.

The Labor Party leader has long criticized HS2 and opposed its implementation. construction in 2015, claiming that it “will not achieve its stated goals.”

However, he and his party have recently weaponized the project and criticized Mr Sunak's decision to abandon it as «the great betrayal of the railway». » North.

The National Policy Forum, brainstorming Labour's manifesto promises, has concluded that the party must commit to delivering on them «in full».

On Thursday, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, ridiculed Jeremy Hunt over comments he made in 2020 that “no HS2 is tantamount to no ambition for our country”.

However, like the Chancellor and the Prime Minister, she concluded that the sharp increase in the cost of a high-speed rail line meant that the project was no longer affordable.

Sir Keir, whom The Tories have been called a «slapper» and have reneged on a number of other big promises since becoming leader.

Despite fierce criticism from his MPs, in June he decided to water down plans to spend £28 billion a year on green investment for cost reasons.

Last month he abandoned his proposal to strip private schools of their charitable status , repeatedly supporting this idea. .

Sir Keir has also drawn criticism from within the Labor Party by repeatedly promising to stick to government policies if he comes to power.

After saying he would stop oil and gas production in the North Sea, he later announced he would honor long-term drilling licenses issued by the Tories.

Shadow Cabinet ministers have also proposed doing so. that Labor will vote for a ban on cigarette sales similar to the one Mr Sunak announced on Wednesday.

Three Tony Blair-era party figures criticized Sir Keir on Thursday for not being bold enough to offer voters a vision of change.

Lord Mandelson, who helped Sir Tony win a landslide victory in the 1997 election, said he did not think Labor or its leader were currently «ready for government».

He told The Guardian: «I'm just I implore people [in the Labor Party] to realize not only that they must not be complacent, but that they must not be complacent. but how much detailed, painstaking and painstaking work is required to prepare a government program.

“Not just a vision, but a real program of government policy flowing from it, which you must have in place if you are going to take up the matter in the first the day after this election.»

Alastair Campbell, Sir Tony's former spin doctor, said Labor was too cautious because «sometimes being attacked is the only way you can come out and make your case.»