A
newspaper
report is
claiming
that
HS2
between
the
West
Midlands
and
Manchester
is
set
to
be
axed.

The
Independent
alleges
that
the
Prime
Minister
and
Chancellor
have
discussed
cancelling
Phase
2
to
release
money
to
fund
tax
cuts
before
the
next
election.

It
would
be
the
second
time
that
the
project
has
been
reduced,
after
HS2
to
Leeds
was
cut
back
to
East
Midlands
Parkway
in
November
2021.

Construction
of
Phase
1
between
London
and
Birmingham
is
continuing,
but
the
section
between
Euston
and
Old
Oak
Common
is
also
in
doubt,
after
construction
was
officially
paused
for
two
years
in
the spring,
amid
confusion
and
debate
over
the
plans
for
High
Speed
platforms
at
Euston.

During
Prime
Minister’s
Questions
in
the
House
of
Commons
yesterday,
Lichfield
MP
Michael
Fabricant
asked:
‘HS2
is
the
most
dysfunctional
organisation
I
have
ever
had
to
deal
with.
Will
the
Prime
Minister,
in
the
short
term,
try
to
restructure
HS2
so
that
it
works
as
a
company
should?
In
the
longer
term,
can
he
save
other
constituencies
by
stopping
HS2
at
the
end
of
phase
1?’

However,
Mr
Sunak
said
only
that
he
understood
the
‘frustrations’
that
HS2
construction
was
causing
in
Lichfield,
and
that
‘the
Transport
Secretary
will
continue
to
hold
[HS2]
to
account’.

Phase
1
between
London
and
Birmingham
was
planned
to
open
in
2026,
but
that
is
now
not
expected
to
happen
until
2029.