HS2 axe 'a catastrophe,' Yorkshire leaders say

Rishi Sunak said high-speed trains from Birmingham to Manchester were no longer economically justified

Rishi Sunak scrapping the northern leg of HS2 is a "catastrophe" for Yorkshire, the region's politicians and business leaders have said.

Plans for high-speed trains from Birmingham to Manchester have been axed, the prime minister confirmed in a speech at the Conservative Party Conference on Tuesday.

He said this would save £36bn to invest in other transport projects.

Northern leaders described the decision as "a national tragedy".

The announcement comes two years after the government cancelled plans for high-speed services to Sheffield and Leeds.

Tracey Brabin, West Yorkshire's mayor, said limiting HS2 to a London-Birmingham service was "yet another blow to northern transport" and would "derail our efforts to boost the economy and level up opportunities".

South Yorkshire's mayor Oliver Coppard said the decision was "not just a broken promise to the North, it's a catastrophe for the whole of the UK".

"For the whole of the country, it will see living standards decline," he said.

Regional mayors including Tracey Brabin, second left, and Oliver Coppard, right, had campaigned to save HS2

In his speech in Manchester, Mr Sunak said the economic case for the line was no longer justified due to spiralling costs.

He said a new "Network North" would be prioritised instead of HS2.

He told the conference planned upgrades would allow commuters to get from Manchester to a new station in Bradford in 30 minutes, Sheffield in 42 minutes and Hull in 84 minutes on a fully electrified line.

Downing Street said £19.8bn of the money saved by axing HS2 would be reinvested in the North, and would fund projects including a new tram network in Leeds, the proposed Shipley bypass in Bradford, and upgrades to roads including the A1.

The prime minister said the Don Valley railway line between Sheffield and Stocksbridge, South Yorkshire, would be reopened.

'Very, very, very sad day'

Mr Coppard said the proposals were "nothing more than reheated projects they've had 13 years to deliver, and more promises for the future they won't deliver".

Louise Haigh, Sheffield Heeley MP and Labour's shadow transport secretary, said: "The Conservatives promised Northern Powerhouse Rail 60 times and in three consecutive Conservative manifestos.

"After this Tory fiasco, why should anyone believe the Tories can deliver anything they say?"

Rishi Sunak said axing the project would save £36bn to invest in other transport projects

Speaking before the prime minister's widely-expected announcement, Henri Murison, chief executive of Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the cancellation of HS2 was a "national tragedy".

"In 100 years the economy of the North will be smaller because of this decision," he added.

Mr Murison said HS2 represented an "economic vision that if you brought the northern cities together you could build a bigger labour market, you could give people here in the north of England the more productive economy that people in London have".

Martin McKervey, chair of the Sheffield Property Association, said the axing of the project was a "very, very, very sad day".

"Quite frankly, as business people and indeed as residents of the North, I think we deserve better," he told BBC Radio Sheffield.

Mr McKervey, who was one of 80 business leaders who wrote to Mr Sunak urging him not to scrap the northern leg, said HS2 would have been "fundamental" in improving the region's ability to attract investment and talent.