Andy Burnham’s plan to resurrect the northern leg of HS2 has proven popular with local leaders and could mean having regional taxpayers share the cost with the Treasury, The i Paper understands.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s Makerfield by-election, Burnham told The i Paper he believes it remains necessary to build a new railway line between Birmingham and Manchester.
Former prime minister Rishi Sunak scrapped HS2’s northern leg in 2023 during the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
Shorts
Sir Keir Starmer’s Government has declined to reverse the move and under Labour’s current plan, no new line north of Birmingham would begin until at least the 2040s, after projects in Liverpool, Manchester and Yorkshire are completed.
