Jeremy Hunt hit back at criticism from Rachel Reeves over his past support for HS2 being built in full.
The chancellor said in 2020 that going ahead with the high speed rail line was a “great decision”, adding: “No HS2 = no ambition for our country just when the whole world is looking at us. Now is a time to be ambitious.”
After Rishi Sunak ripped up plans to build the railway from Birmingham to Manchester, shadow chancellor Ms Reeves re-posted the claim, and said: “How’s it going, Jeremy?”
And, as the row between the government and Labour over HS2 grew, Mr Hunt responded with a clip of Keir Starmer opposing HS2 in 2015.
Before he became Labour leader, Sir Keir said: “I oppose HS2 on cost and merit, it will not achieve its stated objectives.”
“The only sensible plan is to abandon the project altogether,” Sir Keir added.
Mr Hunt shared the video with Ms Reeves, along with the caption: “How is Keir?”
The row came a day after Mr Sunak confirmed his decision to scrap the northern leg of HS2, spending the money saved on investments in local transport links.
In his conference speech on Wednesday, the PM finally announced he was cancelling the development of the high speed rail link north of Birmingham – as first revealed by The Independent.
But he was quickly condemned by former prime minister David Cameron, who denounced the decision to axe the high-speed line beyond Birmingham as the “wrong one”, saying that a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” had been lost. Boris Johnson piled in, adding: “I agree.”
Labour’s shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh said the Tories’ flagship levelling up project failing to reach the north was “emblematic of 13 years of dismal failure”.
“What started as a modern infrastructure plan left by the last Labour government has, after 13 years of incompetence, waste, and broken promises become a colossal symbol of Conservative failure,” she added.
But Labour has refused to commit to building HS2 in full if it gets into power after the next election.
