Boris Johnson 'will be shown as all words and no action' if Northern Powerhouse Rail downgraded, warns Louise Haigh

Boris Johnson will be shown to be “all words with no action” if the Government fails to go ahead with a full version of Northern Powerhouse Rail and other rail upgrades in the region, a Yorkshire MP has said.
Sheffield Heeley MP Louise HaighSheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh
Sheffield Heeley MP Louise Haigh

Louise Haigh, Labour MP for Sheffield Heeley and Shadow Northern Ireland secretary, gave the warning after The Independent reported the Government is set to offer the “bare minimum” of rail upgrades to the North and Midlands once its long-awaited Integrated Rail Plan is finally published.

The report said local transport chiefs expect to receive a “severely-pared back version” of NPR, which has been envisioned as a £43bn project to introduce new high-speed rail links between Northern cities.

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The Independent said it is now expected that Bradford will not be included on the direct NPR route as had been hoped, while the HS2 Eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds will be effectively mothballed with no date set for its completion.

It follows Prime Minister Boris Johnson reaffirming the Government’s commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail in his Tory party conference speech last week but failing to provide any further detail on how it would operate. Preparation work on the HS2 Eastern leg has been on hold until the Integrated Rail Plan is published.

The Government’s current position is that the IRP will consider how the delivery of the Eastern leg will be timetabled to integrate with NPR - opening the door to substantial potential delays.

Ms Haigh said: “The Prime Minister used his speech at the Tory party conference last week to push his message about levelling up, but once again, we’re seeing that he is all words with no action.

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"Reports that the government is planning to cut back the Northern Powerhouse Rail routes and are scrapping high-speed cross-country links are worrying for the North of England. For years passengers across the North of England have been forced to endure poor rail services which do not provide the connectivity or capacity needed. While those in the South of England are benefiting from the £19 billion Crossrail project. This is not levelling up.

“The Tories promised to level up the country in their 2019 election manifesto, but we now know that this is all talk and another broken election promise. They have no intention of investing in the North of England.

"If we’re going to go some way towards addressing the urgent climate crisis and encouraging more people to use public transport instead of their cars, then we urgently need to upgrade our rail services and provide passengers with the service and connectivity they deserve.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “The Integrated Rail Plan will soon outline exactly how major rail projects, including HS2 phase 2b and other transformational projects such as Northern Powerhouse Rail, will work together to deliver the reliable train services that passengers across the North and Midlands need and deserve.”

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