The ex-PM argued that all projects have their financial issues, but eventually make good on the investment
Boris Johnson has said delaying or cutting the HS2 route to Manchester would be a 'betrayal' of the North of England.
And in an interview with The Sun, published on Friday, the Tory leader obfuscated when asked about whether 225mph trains would ever link Birmingham and Manchester. There has been widespread speculation in recent days that Mr Sunak is preparing to either scrap or delay HS2’s Birmingham to Manchester leg after being warned the price tag for the whole project may have soared past £100 billion.
It comes as Mr Johnson, who Mr Sunak served under as chancellor, urged ministers to work through the financial challenges presented by HS2. “We simply cannot afford to abandon this vision now — to panic, and throw up our hands, and say it is all too difficult,” he said in his column. “If we delay or cut the northern legs, if we truncate HS2 — then we are betraying the north of the country and the whole agenda of levelling up,” Mr Johnson said. “Birmingham has already seen stunning investment on the back of HS2 — just look at the cranes.
The eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds was reduced to a spur line which is due to end in the East Midlands. It was confirmed in March that construction between Birmingham and Crewe would be delayed by two years and that services may not enter central London until the 2040s.
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