HS2 news: Rishi Sunak refuses to answer 14 times over whether Birmingham to Manchester leg is going ahead

Rishi Sunak dodged questions 14 times about whether the northern leg of High Speed 2 (HS2) is going ahead.

Ahead of the Conservative party conference which starts on Sunday, the Prime Minister embarked on a number of interviews on BBC local radio stations - and HS2 was the main topic. The High Speed rail link - first conceived in 2009 and then signed off by David Cameron - was supposed to connect London Euston to Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds with trains running at 225mph.

However costs have spiralled from £36 billion in 2010 to more than £100 billion now, and the Leeds leg has already been scrapped. The Prime Minister is reportedly thinking about axing the Manchester section of the line, and having the Birmingham route end up in Old Oak Common, west London, instead of providing a direct route to capital's centre.

NationalWorld has analysed the BBC interviews and found that Sunak dodged questions on the Manchester leg of the trainline a whopping 14 times, instead saying that "spades are in the ground" on the Birmingham section of the route and repeatedly saying the government wants to fix potholes.

BBC Radio Manchester's Anna Jameson asked Sunak "it’s a yes or a no, are you scrapping the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester?" and he merely said that he's "not speculating on future things". Read on to see the transcript and let me know at [email protected] what you think of Rishi Sunak's HS2 answers.

'You've gone against the North haven't you?'

On BBC Radio York, Sunak's home station - he's an MP in North Yorkshire - Joanita Musisi started by asking the Prime Minister about HS2.

Joanita Musisi: Let’s talk about HS2, because many people feel you’ve gone against the North, have you?

Rishi Sunak - avoidance number one: We’re investing record sums in transport infrastructure, particularly in the North - I know acutely where the challenges are and when I speak to people when I’m at home or anywhere else around what everyone else tells me is you’ve got to make it easier to get around all our Northern towns and cities.

JM: We’re hearing the possibility of scrapping the HS2 line north of Birmingham, people will feel betrayed?

RS - number two: No. I think what people will see, I mean particularly around where we are – my home is in Northallerton, we’re investing record amounts in improving infrastructure but also delivering levelling up. I mean making sure that our town centres and high streets get the investment that they need. That’s really important and making sure that, as I say, transport infrastructure is being improved.

'West Midlands mayor says HS2 has to go ahead, do you agree?'

On BBC Radio West Midlands, Rakeem Omar asked Sunak if he agreed with the region's Conservative mayor, that the extension to Manchester has to go ahead:

Rakeem Omar: Andy Street says HS2 has to go ahead, what do you think?

Rishi Sunak - number three: Where I completely agree with Andy is that we invest in transport infrastructure, because that’s a key part of how we level up, how we create jobs and spread opportunity around the country. And we are doing that, we are doing that with hundreds of millions of pounds, particularly in the West Midlands and its not just in transport infrastructure - there’s tram extensions going on - we’re also investing in towns and high streets around the West Midlands. 

RO: We’re talking about HS2, will this line go further than Birmingham up to Manchester, that’s what people want to know?

RS - number four: There are spades in the ground right now, making sure we complete the first part of this line from Birmingham to central London, we’re absolutely getting on with that - that is important. What is also important, particularly to your listeners as well, is that we’re investing in the transport we use every day, making sure that the road that people are using, probably right now as they’re driving to work or taking their kids to school, are free of potholes, that the bus services that we have a reliable and frequent.

'It’s a yes or a no, are you scrapping the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester?'

Anna Jameson, on BBC Radio Manchester, asked the Prime Minister repeatedly "yes or no" whether he was axing the Manchester leg or HS2:

Anna Jameson: There’s been a lot of rumour, a lot of speculation, let’s end this right here, right now - tell the people of Greater Manchester are you scrapping the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester?

Rishi Sunak - number five: I know there’s a lot of speculation on this but we’ve already got spades in the ground on the first bit of HS2, and we’re getting on with delivering it.

AJ: So that’s a commitment?

RS - number six: As I said we’ve got spades in the ground on phase one, and we’re getting on with delivering it.

AJ: So what about phase two?

RS - number seven: Well if I could just finish, it’s always right that the government is looking at things to make sure we deliver things in a way that creates value for money. But what I would say is HS2 is just one of the many things we are doing to level up across our country and it’s one of the many things we’re doing to invest in the North and invest in transport infrastructure in the North. And if you look right now we’re providing record sums to Greater Manchester in particular, so they can improve the transport in and around the city, with its suburbs and the towns nearby. 

AJ: I feel like we’re going off topic here and I want to keep it focused on HS2 because you haven’t, we’re straight talking people here in the north, it’s a yes or a no, are you scrapping the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester?

RS - number eight: I’m not speculating on future things, we’ve got spades in the ground right now and we’re getting on.

AJ: But is it under review?

RS: Government is always making sure we get value for money out of everything we do, but that’s just a statement of the obvious. What people also should know - I think there’s a lot of focus on this one thing - but actually what are the journeys that people use in Greater Manchester and across the north, it’s in their cars, right now, getting to work, taking their kids to school, making sure the roads are free of potholes, that’s priority number one people raise with me.

AJ: We’re not talking about potholes, the main story right now across the country is people want to know about the future of HS2 and still now you can’t give me a yes or no, and you’re the man in control, you have the keys, you can tell us now if that’s happening.

RS number nine: But Anna, my point to you is, the vast majority of the journeys that people make are in their cars, making sure that we make sure our roads are well maintained.

AJ: But we’re talking about trains, we're not talking about cars. 

RS number 10: Even when it comes to trains, the thing people raise with me is what are you doing to connect up all our great towns and cities of the north, west to east, and that’s what we’re doing too, improving the frequency of those journeys, from Liverpool to Manchester to Leeds over to York to Hull to Sheffield, all these towns and cities need connecting up, they need faster connections, more frequent connections, more capacity, we need to invest in local bus services.

AJ: Are you saying now - if you’re looking to commit to an east to west better links - that you’re committing to a north to south, because you can’t have one without the other?

RS number 11: I do think they are two different things.

AJ: They’re not, they’re connected, because you need that link - that is in the plans.

RS number 12: Yes, but it does something different, it connects Liverpool to Manchester, but it’s not just Liverpool and Manchester, we need to think about Bradford, we need to think about Leeds.

AJ: It doesn’t matter from east to west, you need that connecting line, you can’t have one without the other.

'It’s not really acceptable to say I don’t really know - you’re the Prime Minister'

And on BBC Radio Berkshire Andrew Peach told Sunak that it was unacceptable he doesn't know:

Andrew Peach: Is HS2 axed or not? It’s not really acceptable to say I don’t really know - you’re the Prime Minister, it’s your decision.

Rishi Sunak - number 13: It is, there’s been a lot of speculation about it, there’s been a lot of focus on this one thing, but I think for your listeners and listeners everywhere, I want to make sure I reassure them that we’re investing in transport everywhere, not just the one train line, it’s important we’re investing in bus routes, rural areas, it’s important we invest in local roads.

AP: Is it axed or not? Yes or No? We were supposed to be told on Friday, it’s Thursday.

RS - number 14: Lots of speculation about lots of things, we’ve literally got spades in the ground, that are getting on and delivering as we speak.