'Incoherent!' Andy Burnham gives his take on Sunak's plans after HS2 derailed
The mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham has attacked Rishi Sunak's decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2
GB News
Greater Manchester's Labour Mayor Andy Burnham has attacked Rishi Sunak's decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2.
Sunak said the UK will reinvest the £36billion pounds that was set to be spent on the project on "hundreds of new transport projects in the North, the Midlands and across the country".
Speaking at a press conference, Burnham said what the Prime Minister announced today "is not a coherent plan" and it does not deliver the Northern Powerhouse Rail in full to Leeds - which is a "problem".
The former Leigh MP explained: "We've put political differences aside, we've worked hard at it and we've devoted a lot of time and a lot of energy to it.
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"I don't see how you can take a plan that goes beyond the life of any individual Government or goes beyond the interest of any one political party given it goes all the way through the country ... and basically tear it up at a party conference.
"Surely, this should be done on a cross-party consultative basis?"
Burnham, who claimed Manchester deserved more respect, also asked: "Does this country have the will within it to actually prioritise the north of England and sort out its transport problems?
"Does this country have it within it to stop treating people here in the north as second-class citizens when it goes to transport and put them at the front of the queue rather than the back of the queue when it comes to investment?"
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Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham speaks a press conference at Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester
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Sunak's announcements mean the high-speed link between Birmingham and Manchester has been scrapped.
The route between the East Midlands and Leeds was cancelled in 2021.
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street echoed Burnham's concerns about the Prime Minister's decision.
Street, who confirmed he decided not to resign from the Conservative Party, said: "I am incredibly disappointed that the Prime Minister has decided to shelve the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2.
"We fought for it, but we did not prevail."
Sunak announced the change to HS2 during his conference speech amid growing speculation about the project's future.
Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street speaks to the media about HS2 during the Conservative Party annual conference at the Manchester Central convention complex
PA
He told Tory members: "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.
"So I am ending this long-running saga. I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project and in its place, we will reinvest every single penny, £36billion in hundreds of new transport projects in the north and the midlands, across the country.
"This means £36billion of investment in the project that will make a real difference across our nation."
HS2 was given a budget of £55.7billion in 2015 but costs have skyrocketed ever since, hitting £98billion in 2020.
The UK's persistently high inflation rate will have pushed costs up further.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY GEORGINA CUTLER