Labour leaders in York have condemned the Prime Minister’s decision to cancel the Birmingham-Manchester stage of HS2.

York Central MP Rachael Maskell says the scheme would have delivered rail capacity to help take traffic off roads and reduce regional inequality.

Ms Maskell told the Press: “While HS2 was really poorly managed, over engineered, would have unnecessarily caused destruction to some of our ancient woodlands and the costs were not controlled, had the Government properly managed HS2, none of this would have happened.

“As the former Shadow Rail Minister, I sought to amend the legislation to ensure that HS2 could be delivered in a way that brought real benefit to the North, while being completely integrated into a reliable, well connected, and affordable nationally owned and run rail service.

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The MP added: “It is the Tories who have driven the HS2 project off the rails and have now sent it to the scrap yard. Labour will ensure that we rebuild our public transport system so no region misses out on what an integrated system can deliver for the economy and for the people.”

City of York Council’s Executive Member for Transport, Cllr Pete Kilbane called the PM’s decision “an enormous economic blow to Yorkshire and the whole of the North of England.”

Cllr Kilbane continued: “This is not just about broken promises, this is real levelling down. They have not only taken us for mugs but, by announcing this betrayal in Manchester, they are actually rubbing our noses in it.

He added: “This decision has huge implications for the East Coast Main Line which is already near capacity. Put simply, if the North is going to grow sustainably we need more rail lines, not tweaks to the existing network.

York Press:

“The lack of rail capacity means more congestion on our roads and more lorries on the M1 and M62. It’s an abandonment of Conservative promises to Northern towns and cities and a General Election can’t come soon enough”.

Sarah Czarnecki,  president of York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce, agreed the decision was ‘a blow’ for levelling up.

She said: “When plans for HS2 were initially announced it was talked about a precursor to linking York and the rest of the region to the great cities of the North.  It would also have provided the capacity to meet future demand for greener travel around the country.”

However, before the PM announced his decision, York BID executive director Andrew Lowson spoke of alternatives to HS2, which may now be achieved from the £36bn saving being diverted to other transport projects.

He told the Press: “We are lucky in York because we already have a direct connection to London in 1h 45 mins.  Business Leaders in the North have long said the weakness is the East to West link.  Many trains from York to Manchester can also take an hour and a half, yet its only 70 miles away!  Business Leaders will want to see an upgrade on the TransPennine line, making business trips from Liverpool to Newcastle considerably quicker.”

The Press has approached York Outer MP Julian Sturdy for comment.