The effect of the train strikes on attendance, the trauma of recent years, and the change in the nature of the Tory Conference itself leave the question hanging.
“HS2 is a gamble and a bad gambler will always keep throwing money at something.”
The national humiliation, The out-of-control budgets. The broken political promises. What most drives one to despair is the opportunity cost.
Sunak adds that “it is right to focus on levelling up across the country, with a long term plan for our towns.”
Voters clearly want it – and the recent past suggests he’s a more credible agent of it than Sir Keir.
The Mayor of Greater Manchester says that “leaving the North with Victorian infrastructure” would “level us down.”
“HS2 is in the process of being built, it is transformational… the Prime Minister is absolutely committed to levelling up, and this is part of that levelling up.”
Reports suggest that Rishi Sunak and Jeremy Hunt plan both to scrap HS2’s northern link between Birmingham and Manchester and to stop the line from terminating at London Euston.
Despite dire predictions, travellers are returning in droves. Hunt should not overlook this vital sector in his Spring Budget.
It represents just a tenth of that price tag of Crossrail, yet will improve the economic prospects of huge swathes of the UK.
Rename the whole project to reflect its truly unifying nature and let more of Britain, Scotland and Northern England be connected by the “steel threads”.
The second part of a mini-series on ConservativeHome this week about how the Government can help Britain’s economy to grow faster.
If we are to grow as a nation and pay for public services we need to encourage entrepreneurs and support businesses – not make life harder for them and kick them in the teeth.
What is clear is that people want better-connected places. We need more rail capacity, but this is not just about getting to or from London and it can’t come at any price.