Labour has indicated it will resurrect the northern leg of HS2 if it wins the next election, according to reports in The Telegraph.
Rishi Sunak scrapped the Manchester leg of HS2 while at the Tory Party’s conference in Manchester last year, effectively teeing up the prospect of an expensive rail line between the Midlands and a borough in west London.
The party has pledged to reallocate HS2 funding to local infrastructure projects, but there has been dismay after areas in the south received money for a project that was intended to boost connections in the north.
Now, Labour could resurrect the northern leg, with reports suggesting the party has privately indicated to the rail industry that they could reverse the Tory’s decision.
Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, and her team are said to have suggested they want to get spades back into the ground on the route between Birmingham and Crewe.
That is despite the fact that Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, has publicly said it is “not possible” to revive the project because the Government has “blown the budget”.
The Telegraph has been told that Haigh wants to resurrect phase 2a of the project, between Birmingham and Crewe, which would cost around £7 billion.
Bill Esterson, the shadow roads minister, also hinted at the ambition in a social media post after addressing an industry reception this month.
“HS2 was due to reduce the number of lorry movements by 500,000 a year. It was a project that was designed to increase capacity, not least for freight,” he wrote.
“The cancellation by Rishi Sunak has left huge challenges for the industry, especially on the congested section of the network between Birmingham and Crewe. The Labour Party will work with the rail freight sector to ensure that we can grow freight capacity.”
