HS2 is no longer just about transport but whether the North can trust politicians in Westminster - The Yorkshire Post says

If, as is expected, the Prime Minister pulls the plug on HS2 coming to Manchester, then it would undermine the entire project.

It will be justification for those who initially opposed HS2 on the basis that it was geared towards serving the capital. As Andy Burnham, the Labour Mayor of Manchester, has rightly pointed out, there’s no way that a London leg would be completely scrapped.

HS2 is no longer just about a piece of transport infrastructure but about trust. Can the North trust Westminster to deliver for their communities?

In the early days of HS2, a lot of people called for the project to start in Leeds and Manchester and then work its way down to London - to remove the temptation to pull the plug whenever it hit trouble.

While the Government seemingly readies the ground to let the region down, there is a lot to be said of the united front shown by the Mayors across the North on HS2. It is a reminder of the merits of devolution – elected representatives with a powerful voice. The irony is that the Conservative Party Conference, starting on October 1, will be taking place in Manchester. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet should be travelling to it by public transport. That way they will be able to see what the failure to invest in the North’s transport results in.

And if there was ever a story that highlighted the need for better rail services here in the North then the 11-hour journey to Edinburgh that passengers had to endure surely is it. Staff from Greenfaulds High School, Glasgow, were even forced to order their own coach to take 50 pupils home after a trip to London following the cancellation of their train at Preston.