Scrapping HS2 would be nothing short of a disgrace to the north

Can you imagine it? Just one day where transport in the north isn't viewed as an afterthought by the powers that be.

Like the ECHO's regular column writer Liam Thorp, transport, particularly here in the north, is a regular gripe for me. As a man who was born and raised on the outskirts of London, where trains more often than not run like clockwork, moving to Liverpool and experiencing the seemingly never ending issues with transport is a source of major frustration.

I love the north. I love (almost) everything about it. But seeing the topic of transport, particularly the government's refusal to reassure us that it won't axe the Midlands to the north west leg of High Speed 2 (HS2), is nothing short of a disgrace.

Now I know the government hasn't actually scrapped it, yet anyway, but the fact it is even a discussion shows an alarming disregard for the north. This is a government who has built their political manifesto in recent years on the concept of "levelling up". Their opinion of what counts as levelling up is clearly different to ours.

This week a group of Labour mayors, including Liverpool metro mayor Steve Rotheram, penned an open letter to prime minister Rishi Sunak calling on the government to commit to delivering on their promises. Failing to deliver HS2 would "leave swathes of the north with Victorian transport infrastructure," the mayors warned.

In a joint statement, they said: "This government has said repeatedly that it is committed to levelling up in the midlands and north. Failure to deliver HS2 and Northern Powerhouse (NPR) will leave swathes of the north with Victorian transport infrastructure that is unfit for purpose and cause huge economic damage in London and the south, where construction of the line has already begun."

Mr Sunak has so far refused to comment on the decision, but the concerns have been raised by the government due to spiralling costs said to be £100bn. The prime minister has repeatedly dodged questions regarding the HS2 north west line when asked by a host of local reporters, instead talking about local bus links and pothole issues.

When pressed on the topic by BBC Manchester, Mr Sunak said he was "not speculating on future things" - and added: "[the] government is always making sure that we get value for money out of everything we do".

Now here in Liverpool you might question how the decision would be detrimental to us? The proposed HS2 line north west leg would transport passengers from Birmingham through Crewe and onto Manchester, not to Lime Street.

But the success of HS2 is intrinsically linked to the success of NPR - a project which includes a mix of new and upgraded lines to speed up links between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds. I'm sure many of you have endured the cancellations, packed trains and general chaos that I have whenever I've tried to travel to and from another of our country's great northern cities.

Mayor Rotheram, along with Cllr Mike Wharton, leader of Halton Council, also penned an open letter with a thinly veiled barb at the prime minister. They wrote: "In 2017, a little-known backbencher told the House of Commons that ‘the Northern Powerhouse’ is a wonderful phrase, but the people of northern England deserve more than a slogan. They need action.

"That backbencher rose to be prime minister. We could not agree more with your sentiments; HS2 is a key part in delivering the infrastructure improvements that our areas need to make the most of our potential."

The pair said a new twin track line from the Liverpool City Region to Manchester had long been campaigned for which could have the potential to generate tens of thousands of jobs and billions for the region’s economy. There's no denying how important that would be for Liverpool and the wider north west region.

The north west should be asking Mr Sunak this - why are we forced to pay the price for the government's failure to deliver the project on budget? If this proposed railway was connecting major cities in the south, do we really believe we could potentially be in this position? I think we all know the answer to that.

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