Govt has ‘broken promises’ over HS2 says shadow transport secretary

Shadow Transport Secretary, Jim McMahon has accused the government of “broken promises” over HS2.

“I’m afraid Boris Johnson can go have it both ways,” he told BBC One’s Breakfast programme today, in light of reports that the eastern leg of HS2 connecting Birmingham and Leeds will be officially scrapped today.

“Within a month of him becoming prime minister he promised that northern powerhouse rail and HS2 would be delivered in full,” he said, adding: “But the North of England is not gonna get the investment that we were promised.”

In response to the government’s claim that improving existing tracks would deliver faster benefits for  the region, McMahon said “Eleven lost years” of Conservative governance were behind the failure of the plans.