Labour’s on the wrong track if it’s thinking of curtailing HS2 - The Yorkshire Post says

Labour has already got cold feet over fiscal devolution. And now it seems as if it too could row back on promises to deliver HS2 in full amidst concerns over rising costs. Previously, Shadow Transport Secretary Louise Haigh had promised to build HS2 “in full”. But she did not repeat that pledge this week.

The party risks falling into the same trap as the Government has when it comes to implementing HS2. Detractors of the project have long argued about the cost of HS2 but further delays are only going to make it more expensive to deliver. That is if HS2 ever makes its way up to the region in any meaningful way.

The question people in Yorkshire are going to ask is what is so different about the Labour Party compared to the Tories?

So far its by-election successes have come off the back of voter apathy amongst core Conservative voters. It still needs to win over these voters. Failure to do so could come back to haunt it at the General Election.

Regional mayors have already outlined why HS2 is needed in the North. They have been equally vociferous when it comes to Northern Powerhouse Rail.

The Labour Party has a simple choice. Does it want to be seen as the London-centric party that doesn’t understand communities north of the Watford Gap?

This comes off the back of Downing Street’s refusal to guarantee that HS2 would run to Manchester as planned. People in Yorkshire can be forgiven for thinking that both the major political parties are the same.