Five metro mayors said they had been ‘inundated’ with concerns from constituents about the potential economic damage that will result from cancelling the Birmingham-Manchester route
Good morning. Governments are judged on the decisions they take. But they are also judged on how they take decisions (arguably nothing harmed Gordon Brown’s premiership more than his dithering over calling an election in 2007), and Rishi Sunak’s handling of the forthcoming HS2 announcement is becoming chaotic.
Aubrey Allegretti has written a good analysis of the problem. Here is an excerpt.
For nearly a fortnight, the fate of HS2 has hung in the balance. Far from seizing the agenda after plans to pare back the high-speed rail project emerged, Sunak has been accused by Conservative MPs of vacillating.
The void has spurred on critics and supporters of HS2 to fight even harder – compounding the difficulty of the situation for Sunak. And with talk of putting off a final decision until the autumn statement in November, government insiders know the row could intensify further.
