The development and building of HS2 has descended into something bordering a farce. It best encapsulates the Government’s inability to see through a major infrastructure project to its original specifications outside of London.

Henri Murison, chief executive of Northern Powerhouse Partnership think tank, has long championed for better infrastructure in the region. And he is right to call the mismanagement of HS2 “absolutely scandalous”.

The high-speed rail project was given an “unachievable” rating by the official infrastructure watchdog last week following a series of delays, reviews and design changes.

This has led to costs piling up, expected to reach £71bn even if services never reach Leeds.

An image of an early representation of what the new HS2 trains could look like. PIC: HS2/PA Wire

The reality is that the Tories missed a golden opportunity when Government borrowing was relatively cheap to supercharge the economy through transformational infrastructure projects such as HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail. The North was crying out for both only to be left disappointed twice over.

Simply kicking these projects into the long grass does no favours to either the North or the country at large. Delaying HS2 won’t save the Government any money.

For all the talk of wanting to kick start economic growth, the indecision over HS2 shows that the Government is unwilling to actually put faith in the regions to deliver that growth.

A “red” rating has been assigned to the plans for the construction of the first two phases of the HS2 line, which are due to link London, Birmingham and Crewe, by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA).

As Mr Murison says the red rating is as a “direct result” of “short-term political calculations”.

HS2 farce highlights how the Government’s indecisiveness is holding the region back - The Yorkshire Post says