A senior Conservative MP has warned Boris Johnson that he will be breaking his word to so-called “red wall” voters if the government backs out of a promised new rail link in the north of England.
The government has been accused of failing in its pledge to “level up” the north due to Thursday’s expected announcement that part of the eastern leg of HS2 between Birmingham and Leeds will be scrapped.
But there is even greater anger over reports that a boost to east-west rail connections – known as Northern Powerhouse Rail – will likely involve only improvements to existing infrastructure, rather than a promised new line between Manchester and Leeds.
Tory MP Jake Berry, chair of the powerful Northern Research Group (NRG), warned Mr Johnson that voters who switched from Labour to the Tories had not forgotten the pledge.
Reminding him of his promises at PMQs, Mr Berry said: “In July 2019, I was in Manchester when the prime minister committed to build a new line – Northern Powerhouse Rail – between Manchester and Leeds.”
The influential MP for Rossendale and Darwen added: “It was a firm commitment reaffirmed in our manifesto in November 2019, and last month reaffirmed in the prime minister’s conference speech in Manchester. Were the voters in the north right to take the prime minister at his word?”
The prime minister replied “yes” – and insisted that the government would be announcing significant rail investments. “[Voters] should wait and see what is unveiled tomorrow, where he may learn something to his advantage,” he told Mr Berry.
Amid a backlash from both Labour and Tory MPs, opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer asked Mr Johnson if he will he “stick” by his promise – reminding the PM the government had committed to “at least an entirely new high speed rail line between Manchester and Leeds”.
Mr Johnson said the government’s rail plan would “cut journey times” and give the north the “same access to commuter-type services that people in the south east of this country have felt entitled”.
Philip Davies, the Conservative MP for Shipley, has also warned the government that warned it would be a “massive disappointment” if a new link between Manchester and Leeds, via Bradford, is not built in full.
“The issue has never been getting to London, the problem is getting across the north itself,” Mr Davies said. “Anything less than the new [Northern Powerhouse Rail] link would be a massive disappointment and a huge missed opportunity.”
Newspapers across northern England – including the Manchester Evening News and The Chronicle in Newcastle – have united to call on Mr Johnson to deliver what was promised on rail investment.
The measures will be announced by transport secretary Grant Shapps when he publishes the Integrated Rail Plan on Thursday.
The Department for Transport is expected to argue that HS2 trains will still serve Leeds – but putting them on mainline tracks north of the East Midlands rather than on high-speed lines.
The government is also reportedly ready to scale back ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail, with proposals to deliver it through track upgrades rather than building a new line via Bradford.
Tory MP Kevin Hollinrake, who represents Thirsk and Malton in North Yorkshire, told the i newspaper that any attempt to trip back plans suggested the government was “not willing to put our money where our mouth is”.
