The
Prime
Minister
has
refused
to
say
whether
the
HS2
branch
between
Birmingham,
Crewe
and
Manchester
is
to
be
built,
after
numerous
reports
suggested
that
he
is
poised
to
scrap
Phases
2A
and
2B.
Mr
Sunak
remained
tight
lipped
about
the
fate
of
the
scheme
as
the
Conservative
Party
conference
got
under
way
in
Manchester
yesterday
(Sunday).

Rishi
Sunak
is
under
increasing
pressure
in
the
north
of
England,
after
his
former
levelling-up
minister
Dehenna
Davison
was
joined
by
former
Conservative
chairman
Jake
Berry
in
calling
for
him
to
‘crack
on’
with
the
scheme.
Mr
Berry
added
that
the
Manchester
leg
‘really
matters’
to
people
in
the
region.

Business
secretary
Kemi
Badenoch
has
also
admitted
that
international
investors
are
concerned,
but
Mr
Sunak
said
the
UK
was
not
a
‘laughing
stock’,
as
the
Mayor
of
London
Sadiq
Khan
has
alleged.

Mr
Khan
attended
a
meeting
of
Transport
for
the
North
last
week,
when
the
chair
of
TfN,
former
transport
secretary
Lord
McLoughlin,
said:
‘Northern
leaders
spoke
with
one
voice
today.
We
need
HS2
and
Northern
Powerhouse
Rail
built
in
full
if
we
are
to
realise
the
full
potential
of
the
North
and
to
level
up
our
national
economy.
Let
us
not
delay.’

The
chair
of
the
National
Infrastructure
Commission
Sir
John
Armitt
also
told
the
BBC
last
week
that
cancellation
would
be
a
‘tragedy’. He
continued:
‘In
Birmingham
we
have
already
seen
the
consequences
with
major
investment,
20,000
new
jobs
predicted
and
2,000
new
homes
predicted.
But
what
we
have
to
do
is
get
a
grip
on
the
costs.

‘You
look
at
whether
you
have
done
some
gold-plating.
Railway
engineers
always
want
to
do
the
absolute
ideal
and
you
have
to
challenge
that
and
ask
whether
that
is
absolutely
essential
–
can
we
silver-plate
this
rather
than
gold-plate
it?
You
might
slow
it
down
a
bit,
that
gives
you
some
savings
on
the
alignment.’

Mr
Sunak
is
said
to
be
facing
more
opposition
from
other
senior
Conservatives,
including
three
former
Prime
Ministers
–
Boris
Johnson,
Theresa
May
and
David
Cameron
–
as
well
as
former
chancellor
George
Osborne
and
West
Midlands
mayor
Andy
Street.

Meanwhile,
levelling
up
secretary
Michael
Gove
is
reported
to
have
promised
conference
delegates
in
Manchester
that
Mr
Sunak
would
say
more
about
HS2
in
‘due
course’.