'Contemptible' Boris Johnson U-turn and 'big whinge' on HS2 - Yorkshire Post Letters

There has been a big whinge about the probable no HS2 spin-off to Leeds. I do not see a lot of difference for me personally or anyone around our end of Yorkshire.

You can get to Leeds quick and easy enough from Sheffield anyway. Save ten minutes? Big deal.

This is political moaning, not for our concern. And not constructive.

I notice the one to Manchester is still on and, as most people should know, there is a good high speed line from Manchester, through Huddersfield to Leeds and further north.

Perhaps some constructive criticism by any Labour or Conservative with a brain to update that line might be thought good because it will be cheaper.

From: Adrian Caltieri, Thirsk Road, Northallerton.

A COMPARISON of future journey times to Heathrow Airport perhaps illustrates best how Leeds has lost out compared with Manchester.

Once HS2 is operational, from Manchester the journey time to Heathrow will be approximately one hour 25 minutes with a cross platform connection at Old Oak Common in west London.

However from Leeds the journey time will be approximately two hours 50 minutes, twice as long as from Manchester, with the inconvenience of a one-hour journey on the Piccadilly Line or Hammersmith and City Line to Paddington and a walk to the main station.

The journey from Manchester will be on new infrastructure, with inherent reliability, rather than the ECML, some of which is almost 200 years old. Cross platform connections at Old Oak Common also give access to many parts of London via the new Elizabeth Line, opening next year.

It is not hard to see where business and employment will choose to locate.

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield.

ONCE again Boris does a U-turn which throws us into the dustbin as far as rail services are concerned.

I said from the start that the extension to Leeds would never happen and I was spot on.

Anything North of Watford Gap does not exist as far as the Tories are concerned.

From: Michael Green, Baghill Green, Tingley.

I WOULD like to think that, after the Government’s contemptible U-turn, all Conservative Members of Parliament representing Yorkshire constituencies would have the honesty and the integrity to resign their seats by the end of this month.

Think of the respect they would get, as people of principle and honour, by making it clear that they are not prepared to have their constituents lied to like this.

Better, surely, to go out in a blaze of glory as a hero (and live to flight another day), rather than have a political career terminated completely by being thrown out at the next election if not before.