Government’s scaled-back rail plan ‘best bang for the buck’, says deputy PM amid backlash from north

Boris Johnson’s government is focused on getting “the best bang for the buck” by scaling back on promised plans for new rail lines in the north of England, the deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has said.

The government is facing a furious backlash from Conservative MPs and leaders in the north and Midlands, with transport secretary Grant Shapps expected to confirm today that the eastern leg of HS2 will be scrapped between the East Midlands and Leeds.

While the government has touted its Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) programme as part of its move towards “levelling up” the country, it is also expected to confirm there will only be upgrades to existing infrastructure rather than a new line between Manchester and Leeds.

Mr Raab claimed the £96bn plan set out today would still be a “win-win” – but made clear cost savings were behind the changes. “We’re looking at where you get best value for taxpayers’ money – where the infrastructure will deliver the best yield.”

The cabinet minister added: “I know the transport secretary and the chancellor [Rishi Sunak] are very focused on delivering the best bang for the buck for those businesses and the regional economy on the north and Midlands.”

The prime minister has insisted the government will continue to investigate ways of extending HS2 to Leeds – confirming the ditching of the eastern leg before Mr Shapps’ announcement in the Commons.

In a column in the Yorkshire Post, Mr Johnson wrote: “HS2 will come to Sheffield, meaning a trip to or from London will take just one hour 27 minutes – precisely the same as under the old HS2 plans. We’ll look at how to get HS2 to Leeds too, with a new study on the best way to make it happen.”

Labour’s shadow secretary of state for transport Jim McMahon said the north was being betrayed by the decision to scrap part of the HS2 extension. He said the government was “trying to present it almost in a way that people should be grateful, that at least we’re getting crumbs off the table – and that’s just not good enough”.

Tory anger has been largely focused on the expected downgrading of the Northern Powerhouse Rail line between Leeds and Manchester.

Roughly half of the planned project will be a new high-speed line, according to Politico, while the other half will consist of infrastructure upgrades. Bradford is said to have been excluded from getting a new stop.

Sharing his anger over the failure to deliver on commitments, Lord O’Neill – former Tory minister and vice chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership – told Times Radio that “Bradford is being excluded” by the reported changes – saying they do not “make a huge amount of sense”.

Leading Tory MP Jake Berry, the chair of the Northern Research Group, confronted Mr Johnson at PMQs on Wednesday by asking: “Were the voters in the north right to take the prime minister at his word?”