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Rishi Sunak was monstered on BBC Radio Manchester as he failed to answer questions on whether HS2 will make it to the city.
The prime minister was told “it’s a yes or a no” as he was directly asked what was happening with the project by presenter Anna Jameson.
But Sunak said he was “not speculating on future things” amid mounting fears the multi-billion pound rail line will only go as far north as Birmingham.
Jameson told him: “There’s been a lot of rumour, a lot of speculation. Let’s end this right here, right now.
“Tell the people in Greater Manchester are you scrapping the HS2 line between Birmingham and Manchester?”
Sunak replied: “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.
“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 in the north and in transport infrastructure in the north.
“And if you look right now we’re providing record sums to Greater Manchester in particular so that they can improve the transport in and around the city.
But Jameson told him: “We are going off topic here and I just want to keep it focused on HS2 because we are straight talking people in the north, so yes or no – are you scrapping the HS2 o line between Birmingham and Manchester?”
Dodging the question once again, the PM said: “Like I said, I’m not speculating on future things.
“We’ve got spades in the ground right now and we’re getting on, but what the government is always making sure that we get value for money out of everything we do”
Sunak is coming under mounting pressure from senior Tories, opposition politicians and business leaders to announce whether or not the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 will go ahead.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last week said the cost of the project was “out of control”, but there is still no clarity from the government on what will happen next.
Former Tory prime ministers David Cameron and Boris Johnson are among the senior Conservatives urging Sunak not to cancel the project.
Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has accused the government of treating people in the north “like second class citizens” over the issue.
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