HS2 cuts would leave North with Victorian infrastructure - Labour mayors

The five mayors say any decision to not extend HS2 to Manchester would be damaging for transport across the North

Failing to deliver HS2 in full would "leave swathes of the North with Victorian transport infrastructure", a group of Labour mayors have warned.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has joined the group of four northern mayors in Leeds to sign a letter to Rishi Sunak.

They called on the government to commit to delivering Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) in full.

The government has said no decision has been made on whether to axe the line from the Midlands to the North West.

Alongside Mr Khan, West Yorkshire's Tracy Brabin, Greater Manchester's Andy Burnham, Steve Rotheram, mayor of Liverpool City Region and South Yorkshire's Oliver Coppard attended the meeting.

In a joint statement, they said: "This government has said repeatedly that it is committed to levelling up in the Midlands and North.

'Unfit for purpose'

"Failure to deliver HS2 and NPR will leave swathes of the North with Victorian transport infrastructure that is unfit for purpose and cause huge economic damage in London and the South, where construction of the line has already begun."

"Ensuring not only North-South, but West-East connectivity between Liverpool and Hull, via Manchester Airport, must be a non-negotiable," they added.

The group mentioned a "much-needed" underground station at Manchester Piccadilly and an NPR station in Bradford as key requirements.

Culture secretary Lucy Frazer said the government would "listen to a wide variety of voices" when it came to considering HS2.

Asked whether the prime minister and chancellor would be listening to the plea by the mayors, she said: "As you know, it's the responsibility of the government to keep all projects under consideration. And that's what the chancellor is doing.

"He is, as he does on all matters which are spending billions of pounds of taxpayers' funding, looking at a whole range of projects to make sure that they are value for money."

The high-speed rail project is intended to link London, the Midlands and the North of England.

The first part, between west London and Birmingham, is already being constructed.

The last official estimate on HS2 costs, excluding the cancelled eastern section, added up to about £71bn

However, in late 2021 the planned eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds was axed and in March it was announced that building the line between Birmingham and Crewe, and then onto Manchester, would be delayed for at least two years.

The NPR project would include a mix of new and upgraded lines to speed up links between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.

It plans to use a section of the HS2 line from Manchester Airport to Manchester Piccadilly, as well as the planned upgrades to Manchester Piccadilly station.

Speaking ahead of the Transport for the North board meeting in Leeds, Mr Burnham asked: "Are we one country, or are we not?"

"Why does one part of the country get different treatment to another - that's the message I've been putting back to the government, don't pull the plug on the North."

"Businesses in West Yorkshire have been telling me what they need more than anything is certainty and consistency, not this 'stop-start' approach that we've seen from Rishi Sunak," Ms Brabin said.

"It's stopping our competitiveness across the world."

'Government mismanagement'

The last official estimate on HS2 costs, excluding the cancelled eastern section, added up to about £71bn.

But this was in 2019 prices so it does not account for the rise in costs for materials and wages since then, with some reports suggesting the price tag may now have soared past £100bn.

When asked if there came a point the project becomes too expensive to continue, Mr Coppard replied: "Well, there is when the government mismanage it to the extent that they have."

Speaking on Tuesday, Home Office minister Chris Philp said the prime minister and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt were reviewing the project now the costs have "gone up a lot".

"It's roughly tripled I think since it was first conceived," he told Sky News.

"No decisions have been taken about the remaining stages of HS2 but I do know the chancellor and the prime minister are looking at how the cost can be controlled."

A government spokesperson said: "The HS2 project is already well under way with spades in the ground and our focus remains on delivering it."