Image source, EPA

Grant Shapps - current defence secretary and former transport secretary - is currently up on BBC Breakfast and being quizzed about the plans to scrap part of HS2.

He says while we need to wait for Rishi Sunak's speech for confirmation of the decision, the PM has had to consider whether it's worth "ploughing on" building the second part of the line "even though the world's changed".

"Given that the world has changed and people's travel patterns have changed since coronavirus, does it make sense to spend tens of billions of pounds?" he asks.

"Or is there something else we can do that might be better? That's what we still need to wait for in [the PM's] speech today."

This was Britain’s flagship transport infrastructure projectpublished at 07:39 British Summer Time 4 October 2023

07:39 BST 4 October 2023

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

If cancelling the Birmingham to Manchester leg is indeed the next chapter in the HS2 story, it is a hugely significant moment.

It is Britain's flagship transport infrastructure project.

There have been ballooning costs, delays, disruption, a big cut to HS2’s Eastern leg, and salami slicing.

But a change of this nature would change the project and its outcomes beyond recognition.

At least £22.5bn has already been spent building the London-Birmingham section.

Another £2.3bn has gone towards the second stage, on things like buying up land and property. Some 30,000 people are already working on HS2, mostly in the supply chain.

The questions that remain unanswered on HS2published at 07:31 British Summer Time 4 October 2023

07:31 BST 4 October 2023

Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

Backers of HS2 - even those who do believe things could have been done better along the way - will view this as a squandered opportunity to better connecting the country, create jobs, and create more space on the rail network for both passenger and freight services.

They will warn that Britain's reputation as a place to invest, and for seeing through big infrastructure projects, has been damaged.

Opponents will argue that HS2 was the wrong idea in the first place, money would be better used elsewhere, and costs have been allowed to spiral out of control.

People whose lives have already been uprooted by property purchases along the planned HS2 route north of Birmingham, will wonder what all that stress was for.

If the decision ends up being that HS2 trains will go to Manchester using existing tracks, it follows that no extra capacity - space - would be created, and journey time benefits would be reduced.

If the prime minister’s argument is that the money from HS2 Phase 2 will be used on improving transport elsewhere, it will be interesting to hear the details of exactly how this will work, and when that money would be available.

There is also the question of what happens to "Northern Powerhouse Rail". The Manchester part of HS2 was to form the start of this East-West link.

Time for a look at Wednesday's papers - and they are dominated by the Conservative Party conference.

Images of Home Secretary Suella Braverman at the conference are splashed across many of the front pages, after a speech which the FT says "won an ovation from activists and condemnation from critics".

The i says Rishi Sunak will "gamble his future on a major speech" later today, "in an attempt to revive Tory fortunes" ahead of the next election.

You can read about what's in Wednesday's papers here.

HS2 was intended to create high-speed rail links between London and major cities in the Midlands and North of England.

It was aimed at cutting journey times, creating more space on the rail network and more jobs outside London.

But HS2 has faced delays, spiralling costs and cuts.

It was meant to connect London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

Lots of work has been done on the section linking London and Birmingham.

But the government scrapped the Leeds leg in 2021, external.

And, as we've been telling you, uncertainty over the future of the Birmingham-Manchester leg of the project has been hanging over the Conservative conference, which just happens to be taking place in… Manchester.

The BBC understands that PM Rishi Sunak will bring the speculation to an end during his key note address today, announcing the West Midlands-Manchester leg of the project will be scrapped.

Image source, .

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham told BBC Newsnight that a decision to scrap the Birmingham-Manchester leg of HS2 means northerners were being treated as "second class citizens".

"What they are deciding is that the north of England will have a smaller economy for the rest of this century," he said.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, EPA

Rishi Sunak is set to announce that the West Midlands to Manchester leg of HS2 will be scrapped, the BBC understands.

Despite ministers' best efforts to keep the government's plans under wraps, the future of the high-speed rail link has dominated the Conservative Party Conference.

By Monday, the mayors were circling. Manchester's Andy Burnham said its possible cancellation was "profoundly depressing", while the West Midlands' Mayor Andy Street it would damage the UK's international reputation.

Despite this, Tuesday brought much of the same from the PM - with Sunak telling BBC Breakfast he "won't be forced into a premature decision" on the Manchester leg of HS2.

But it is today that Sunak will deliver the government's final verdict, using his conference speech to set out a range of alternative projects in the north of England and Wales.

Sunak is likely to argue these projects will be a better use of money and can be delivered more quickly.

Rishi Sunak is the headline speaker today as he closes the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester.

We're expecting the PM to address party members late mid-morning. Secretaries of state including Suella Braverman, Jeremy Hunt, Kemi Badenoch and former PM Liz Truss have already spoken at the conference this week.

Speculation over the HS2 rail line has overshadowed the event in recent days, and today Sunak finally has a chance to bring clarity to the subject. The BBC understands he will announce that the West Midlands to Manchester leg of the project is being scrapped.

Other big issues on Sunak's agenda include the economy, net zero and small boats.

You'll be able to follow all the latest text updates on this page, and you can also watch the conference live at the top of this page on what promises to be an interesting day.

Emily McGarvey
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

Good morning and welcome to our final day of live coverage from the Conservative Party Conference.

Although the conference is coming to an end in Manchester, the issues hanging over the party in this part of England, namely HS2, look set to continue.

The BBC understands that Rishi Sunak will announce the scrapping of the high-speed rail line from West Midlands to Manchester in his speech today.

This speech could also be his last to conference before a general election, which is widely expected to be held next year, possibly in the autumn.

It's a huge moment for the PM, with the Conservative Party behind in the polls and a government attempting to change the political weather with its recent shift on net zero and announcements of exemptions and delays on several key green policies.

Our team here in London and at the conference in Manchester are poised to bring you key updates and snap analysis throughout the day, so stay with us.