The government is facing criticism from politicians, industry groups and two former Conservative prime ministers over concerns it could decide to cancel the Northern link of the High Speed 2 (HS2) line.

The news was first reported by The Independent, which claimed the government had already spent £2.3bn on stage two of the high-speed railway, and was looking into the possibility of either scrapping its second stage to save up to £34bn or delaying the northern phase of HS2 by up to seven years. 

Sunak has refused to comment on the claims, stating that he remains “absolutely committed to levelling up and spreading opportunity around the country”. However, cabinet minister Grant Shapps told Sky News there could be a change to the “sequencing” and “pace” of HS2 due to the cost concerns.

“Money is not infinite,” Shapps said. “All of these big decisions where budgets are, particularly in the case of HS2, inexorably going higher and higher and higher, and your viewers are having to pay that bill, it is absolutely right that the government looks at it and says: hold on a minute, is this just a sort of open-ended cheque or are we going to make sure this project gets delivered to a pace and a timetable that actually works for the taxpayer?”

Several senior members of his party have opposed the notion, saying that axing the line to Manchester would be a “gross act of vandalism”. 

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said scaling down the plan would constitute “Treasury-driven nonsense”, while former chancellor George Osborne and ex-deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine agreed that the move would mean “abandoning” the North and Midlands.

“Governments are remembered for what they build and create,” they wrote in a piece published by The Times. “Make this mistake and yours may only be known for what it cancelled and curtailed.

“The government should examine why other European countries have been able to build high-speed rail more cheaply and bring the same review of planning for big energy infrastructure to transport projects that it is promising. That’s a sensible serious way forward; not the gross act of vandalism that cancelling HS2 would represent.”

Andy Street, Tory mayor of the West Midlands, said scrapping the Manchester link would create the “most expensive white elephant in UK history”.

Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also cautioned Sunak against scrapping the plan, while Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham warned that ditching the Northern phase of HS2 would be a disaster of “epic proportions” for the region. 

“The Conservative party stood before voters here in Bolton and said, we will level you up, we will invest in the North of England, we will ensure that the North gets the same standard of infrastructure as elsewhere,” he told Times Radio. “And if they pull the plug, quite frankly those commitments that they made will be utterly meaningless.

“And I would say they shouldn’t really be taking this decision without calling a general election because it would just not be right for them to do what they’re reportedly planning to do when they do not have a mandate to do it.”

On Saturday, more than 80 companies and business leaders wrote a letter to the government to express “deep concern” over “the constant uncertainty” that “plagues” the project. The Financial Times has also reported the existence of a separate letter in which 10 vice-chancellors of universities in the West Midlands, including Warwick and Coventry, called on Sunak to push ahead with HS2 in full.

Plans for HS2 were greenlighted during Boris Johnson’s mandate, with a view to connect London to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham with a Y-shaped network. Construction on HS2 began in September 2020, with the government claiming that the railway line would be “still going strong” in 150 years.

Since then, the line has faced multiple delays and price hikes. Last March, it was announced that construction of the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 will be delayed by two years and services may not even enter central London until the 2040s.

The government is facing criticism from politicians, industry groups and two former Conservative prime ministers over concerns it could decide to cancel the Northern link of the High Speed 2 (HS2) line.

The news was first reported by The Independent, which claimed the government had already spent £2.3bn on stage two of the high-speed railway, and was looking into the possibility of either scrapping its second stage to save up to £34bn or delaying the northern phase of HS2 by up to seven years. 

Sunak has refused to comment on the claims, stating that he remains “absolutely committed to levelling up and spreading opportunity around the country”. However, cabinet minister Grant Shapps told Sky News there could be a change to the “sequencing” and “pace” of HS2 due to the cost concerns.

“Money is not infinite,” Shapps said. “All of these big decisions where budgets are, particularly in the case of HS2, inexorably going higher and higher and higher, and your viewers are having to pay that bill, it is absolutely right that the government looks at it and says: hold on a minute, is this just a sort of open-ended cheque or are we going to make sure this project gets delivered to a pace and a timetable that actually works for the taxpayer?”

Several senior members of his party have opposed the notion, saying that axing the line to Manchester would be a “gross act of vandalism”. 

Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said scaling down the plan would constitute “Treasury-driven nonsense”, while former chancellor George Osborne and ex-deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine agreed that the move would mean “abandoning” the North and Midlands.

“Governments are remembered for what they build and create,” they wrote in a piece published by The Times. “Make this mistake and yours may only be known for what it cancelled and curtailed.

“The government should examine why other European countries have been able to build high-speed rail more cheaply and bring the same review of planning for big energy infrastructure to transport projects that it is promising. That’s a sensible serious way forward; not the gross act of vandalism that cancelling HS2 would represent.”

Andy Street, Tory mayor of the West Midlands, said scrapping the Manchester link would create the “most expensive white elephant in UK history”.

Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also cautioned Sunak against scrapping the plan, while Labour’s Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham warned that ditching the Northern phase of HS2 would be a disaster of “epic proportions” for the region. 

“The Conservative party stood before voters here in Bolton and said, we will level you up, we will invest in the North of England, we will ensure that the North gets the same standard of infrastructure as elsewhere,” he told Times Radio. “And if they pull the plug, quite frankly those commitments that they made will be utterly meaningless.

“And I would say they shouldn’t really be taking this decision without calling a general election because it would just not be right for them to do what they’re reportedly planning to do when they do not have a mandate to do it.”

On Saturday, more than 80 companies and business leaders wrote a letter to the government to express “deep concern” over “the constant uncertainty” that “plagues” the project. The Financial Times has also reported the existence of a separate letter in which 10 vice-chancellors of universities in the West Midlands, including Warwick and Coventry, called on Sunak to push ahead with HS2 in full.

Plans for HS2 were greenlighted during Boris Johnson’s mandate, with a view to connect London to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham with a Y-shaped network. Construction on HS2 began in September 2020, with the government claiming that the railway line would be “still going strong” in 150 years.

Since then, the line has faced multiple delays and price hikes. Last March, it was announced that construction of the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 will be delayed by two years and services may not even enter central London until the 2040s.