Liverpool City Region metro mayor Steve Rotheram has launched a scathing attack on Rishi Sunak's plan to axe the Northern leg of HS2 and spend the £36bn on smaller transport schemes.

The Labour mayor described the 'Network North' proposals - which the Government says will ensure better transport schemes arrive on Merseyside sooner - as "very, very phoney" and an example of "smoke and mirrors".

But the Department for Transport described his claims as an "unfair characterisation" and insists its proposals "will bring massive change to people living in and around Liverpool much faster than the link between Birmingham and Manchester ever would have".

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A few days ago the Prime Minister announced that the Western leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Manchester would be scrapped as costs on the project soar, with the £36bn saved to be spent on other schemes that can be delivered sooner.

And writing in The Northern Agenda politics newsletter this week, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said cancelling Phase 2 of HS2 "means more money for more places across the North".

He added: "For example, we’ll double the Liverpool City Region’s Sustainable Transport budget – ensuring better local transport that arrives sooner."

The senior Tory said that the Government would also "invest a further £12bn on better connecting Liverpool and Manchester and I look forward to working with local leaders on how best to use that investment".

Hear the full interview with Steve Rotheram in the Northern Agenda podcast:

Back in 2021 under the premiership of Boris Johnson, the Government promised to build a new high speed line between Marsden in West Yorkshire and Warrington with an upgraded line from Warrington to Liverpool.

This fell short of the full Northern Powerhouse Rail vision Northern leaders like Mr Rotheram had been calling for which would have seen a new high speed line all the way from Liverpool to Leeds via Manchester.

He told the Northern Agenda podcast this week: "The mess that [the Government] have created, is that they've promised people this South-North connection, that's now not going to happen. But for us, west-east, the £12 billion that's been identified, is just a stab in the dark.

"There's no business case that says '£12 billion, we'll build a new station in Liverpool, and then a new twin track line across to Manchester, and then a station at Manchester'. These are just fantasy figures.

"So the whole thing's very, very phoney. You throw a lot of chaff up, and then people start to go 'oh well £12 billion pounds sounds an awful lot'. It is an awful lot. But if it doesn't do the job, if it's less than what's needed, then it means that the project is not viable.

"And I'm afraid we've seen this all along with not only the way in which this funding has been announced, but the way in which they've tried to convince people that its distribution is somehow fair.

"Potholes being filled in with the money that was for our leg, the Northern leg being used down South, or that there's going to be better train connectivity between Oxford and Cambridge. How are these things genuinely going to help the North?

"All they're going to do is embed the disparities and the way in which this country is so unequal, and levelling up actually died the day that Rishi Sunak spoke about canceling HS2."

As part of the Network North plan using the money from HS2, the Liverpool City Region is set to get £1.58bn from the second phase of the City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements designed to be used on long-term transport infrastructure.

Government officials say this is more than double the £710m funding settlement for the first phrase of the scheme, which runs from 2022 to 2027 and has been used to pay for projects like the new railway station at Headbolt Lane.

Mr Rotheram conceded the funding for his patch had now increased compared but said: "Again, this is not until 2027. So it's about all of this smoke and mirrors that somehow this money is going to pay dividends now.

"This is not going to be seen for many, many decades in regard to the full realisation. The £12 billion, for instance, is 2041. Some people my age will be lucky enough to be around in 2041. I hope I am, but that's the extent of all of this kicking the can down the road.

"The Tories are famous for this aren't they, they're not only spending somebody else's legacy monies, the inheritance money of future generations, but they're doing it in an uncoordinated and incohesive way.

"So, for us as a city region. We don't know how much we're actually going to be getting because we certainly know that the Tories aren't going to be in control when some of these pots are due to be paid out."

Responding, a Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “This is an unfair characterisation. We are providing billions of pounds in funding which will specifically benefit Liverpool.

"Not only is this helping to double the money it can spend on local transport projects, but we also look forward to engaging with local leaders on how best to transform its connection with Manchester – for which we have set aside an additional £12bn on top of the £36bn saved from HS2.

“This will bring massive change to people living in and around Liverpool much faster than the link between Birmingham and Manchester ever would have.”

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