It is easy to characterise the scrapping of part of HS2 as yet another great Tory betrayal, and for the government’s opponents to make hay of a decision that appears to run precisely counter to the Tories’ key manifesto commitment of “levelling up” the north.
Indeed, one can certainly add it to Boris Johnson’s long list of U-turns and obfuscations. And it would be fanciful to think that this new plan was the outcome of a careful assessment of transport needs in the region. Rather, it has emerged because of pressure from two key players: the Treasury, with its innate hatred of big-ticket items, and the Tory backbenchers, whose affection for Jaguars and BMWs is far greater than for newfangled high-speed trains.
The result will certainly be a
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