Axing Manchester leg of HS2 would free up cash to fix potholes, Rishi Sunak hints

AXING the Manchester leg of HS2 rail line would free up cash to fix potholes, Rishi Sunak hinted yesterday.

The PM denied betraying northerners by threatening to scale back the project.

He insisted getting value for money was his main concern, while helping peop le get about by car was more important.

During a round of BBC radio interviews, he said: “The journeys people use most often, all your listeners probably right now, the majority of them in their cars trying to get to work, take kids to school and all the rest.

“Making sure that for our roads, the potholes are maintained well, making sure that our bus services are running well, that’s all important.”

Repairing pothole-riddled roads became a major battleground in this year’s local elections.

HS2 is billions over budget, with the north-eastern leg to Leeds axed last year to curb costs.

Yesterday, Mr Sunak refused to speculate on whether the line would reach Manchester.

It came as Britain’s biggest unions, as well as the leader of the TUC, demanded an emergency summit to resolve the turmoil surrounding the project.

HS2’s future is especially awkward for Mr Sunak as he heads to Manchester for the Tory party conference this weekend.

Asked how he was getting there, the PM said: “I’ll probably be driving because train strikes have been put in place, which is very disappointing.”