Cancellation of HS2 a wrong-headed decision by an out of touch Prime Ministe

TSSA today condemned Rishi Sunak’s “wrong-headed” decision to cancel the Manchester leg of HS2.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who is known to charter a private helicopter to visit his constituency, announced that he would be cancelling the Manchester leg of HS2, at the Conservative party conference - in Manchester.

Joint interim general secretary Peter Pendle, said, “This is wrong-headed decision by an out-of-touch Prime Minister who doesn’t have the first clue about railways. Why would he? He never uses them!

“He’s got some nerve taking money from the railway and using it to build bigger roads. So much for his commitment to net zero! HS2 wouldn’t just have made North-South journeys easier for passengers it was designed to take rail freight off the road too.

“The British public won’t be taken in by the shiny new projects he’s offered today. None of them are “shovel ready” unlike HS2, they’ll take years to even get started.

“But mark my words those projects won’t happen under a Tory government either. They broke their promises over Northern Powerhouse Rail, they’ve broken their promises over HS2. Why would anyone believe they’ll keep their promises over today’s new projects?

 ENDS