Rishi Sunak announces he IS scrapping Manchester's HS2 leg after weeks of denials

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

The Manchester leg of HS2 has been cancelled, the Prime Minister has confirmed today. The high-speed railway line, which is currently being built between London and Birmingham, will not reach the North of England as planned.It follows weeks of speculation over the fate of the second phase of the multi-billion pound scheme.

Ministers have repeatedly refused to confirm whether HS2 line to Manchester will go ahead since reports first emerged last month that the government was considering shelving the plans due to concerns about spiraling costs and severe delays.

In his speech on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said that 'the facts have changed'. He said 'every penny' of the savings would be invested in transport projects across the North and Midlands. READ MORE: Andy Burnham and Northern leaders' last-ditch plan to save HS2 if Rishi Sunak axes Manchester legREAD MORE: The Tories have insulted Greater Manchester again - it all feels very familiar In his speech, he said: "We need better transport in the north, a new network north that will join up our great cities in the North and Midlands.

I wanted to come to Manchester to say that this will be our priority - our focus our project." He told Tory conference: “I say to those who backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed and the right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change direction..