, Labour’s Shadow Transport
Secretary, responding to Rishi Sunak’s announcement that
he is scrapping the second leg of HS2, said:
"This staggering Tory fiasco has seen costs soar, and the North
and Midlands are left to pay the price.
“Only after 13 years of dismal failure could the Conservatives
make the centrepiece of their conference a re-announcement of
promises the Conservatives have made before.
“Is there anything more emblematic of 13 years of dismal failure
by this broken government than their flagship levelling-up
project that fails to even reach the north?
“What started as a modern infrastructure plan left by the last
Labour government has, after 13 years of incompetence, waste, and
broken promises become a colossal symbol of Conservative
failure.”
Ends
Notes:
Almost all of Sunak’s proposals had already been part of
government plans, so cannot be described as new investments, nor
reinvestments:
o Hull first proposed a fast-track electrification of
the 70 miles (112km) of track in 2013. The government agreed that
work should “focus on electrification and line speed improvements
to improve journey times from Hull to Leeds” in 2021.
-
Electrification of Hope Valley line - Integrated Rail
Plan:
o The government previously stated: “any further
future improvements to Manchester–Sheffield would best be based
on an upgrade and electrification of the existing Hope Valley
Line”.
o Announced in 2020: https://www.thestar.co.uk/news/transport/long-lost-sheffield-railway-route-could-reopen-3436437.
o £50,000 was thrown at the consultation and nothing
changed.
-
Improved connectivity between Bradford and
Manchester:
o Promised to deliver as part of Northern Powerhouse
Rail in three consecutive manifestos.
-
Sunak promised to upgrade the A1, A2, A5, M6 and A75,
yet almost all of these projects were in the future pipeline of
schemes delayed only six months ago by him for up to five years
until after 2030:
o A1 Doncaster to Darrington
o A2 Brenley Corner, A2 Dover Access
o A5 Hinckley to Tamworth
o M6 Junctions 19 to 21a Knutsford to Croft extra
capacity, M6 junction 22, M6 junction 15 Potteries southern
access
o This was first touted back in 2018:https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-supports-study-into-potential-of-new-yorkshire-bypass.
o £300,000 was spent on consultations and feasibility
studies.
o This was also first touted in 2018: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/multi-million-pound-plans-put-15536086.
o Construction was supposed to start in 2020 and
didn't.
