Huw Merriman, rail minister between 2022 and 2024, said the Conservatives had already approved the funding for a new railway between Liverpool and Manchester when the decision was taken to scrap the northern leg of HS2 in 2023 under Rishi Sunak.
Merriman, who is chairing an expert board on how best to deliver the 50km “LMR line” which is being backed by leaders across the North including Labour’s mayors Andy Burnham and Steve Rotheram, accused the Government of not being honest with the public.
“As those in government now will know full well, the Prime Minister only makes announcements after they’ve been signed off by the Treasury.”
The LMR line would connect Manchester and Liverpool across five stationsA number of large rail projects are being considered by the Government, as well as how to get a grip of the first phase of HS2, from London to Birmingham, which continues to suffer delays and escalating costs.
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Merriman argues that this gives further credibility to his argument that funding has already been agreed and Labour simply needs to extend the promise.
“Whether the new government then decide that’s their priority or not is another matter.”
Merriman argued that instead, the Government should seek to maximise the investment that is being made in HS2.
“We get things done like this in this country and I think it would be a shame for us to close the doors on infrastructure projects, we should be learning the lessons and making sure it never happens again in the same way [as HS2].
Andy Burnham (R) and Steve Rotheram, Labour’s mayors in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool city-region respectively, are seeking Government funding for their LMR line rail project (Photo: Christopher Furlong/Getty)
“We’re not just saying ‘can you give us loads of money?’ and then we will do exactly what happened with HS2 and it won’t be properly spent.
“The interesting parallel with HS2, even for the last two years and the time I was rail minister, all the local authorities and the political leaders on the line of route just did everything they could to try and make it difficult to build it, that puts the price up because it delays it.
“It makes sense to have an east-west rail Oxford to Cambridge and east-west rail Liverpool to Manchester so you’ve got these two corridors of growth, rather than just one for the south and the north misses out again.”
“We are currently reviewing the position we have inherited on HS2, and will set out next steps in due course,” a spokersperson said.
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