Chancellor Rachel Reeves casts doubt over future of Rishi Sunak's Network North transport plan

This included electrifying the lines between Leeds, Hull and Sheffield, a mass transit system for West Yorkshire and a new station and connectivity for Bradford.

The Chancellor has guaranteed the money for a consultation on Leeds’ long-awaited new transport network, but in an exclusive interview with the Yorkshire Post she revealed that the new government is still assessing funding for the other projects.

Ms Reeves said: “We’re looking at everything that the previous government announced to make sure that the money is there and that would be a matter for Louise Haigh as Transport Secretary.

“I recognise the benefits of these investments but we need to make sure the money adds up … and is there to deliver them.”

The previous government had promised to spend £3 billion on bringing Hull into Northern Powerhouse Rail and electrifying lines from Sheffield to Leeds and Manchester, while Bradford’s improvements were set to cost £2 billion.

At the time, Sunak was criticised as Network North included projects in Plymouth, Bristol and Felixstowe, with Labour describing it as a “back of the fag packet plan”.

The new Chancellor also poured cold water on suggestions from her second-in-command Darren Jones that the northern leg of HS2 could be revived.

“I’m not going to make any commitments around spending without saying where the money is going to come from - public finances are in a mess,” the Leeds West and Pudsey MP said.

“I don’t want to get people’s hopes up that we’re going to unlock huge amounts of public investment.

“The reality is that our economic inheritance is the worst since the Second World War and it means that not everything we want to do we’ll be able to do as quickly as we want.

“I think people will appreciate a government that is at least honest about things.

“I’m not going to make promises I can’t keep, that’s what previous governments did - I’m going to be different, we’re going to deliver our manifesto and I’m always going to say where the money is coming from when I announce new projects.”

Henri Murison, the chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said the most important thing was Labour’s “very clear message that they want to improve connectivity across the Pennines”.

Murison told the Yorkshire Post that Ms Reeves had every right to be sceptical of Network North, which he said “is not worth the paper it’s written on”.

He said in his opinion, the infrastructure to improve productivity and growth is Northern Powerhouse Rail, the planned high-speed line from Liverpool to Leeds with a new station in Bradford.

“What is valuable is getting considered progress on the delivery of the scheme, whether that be the design of Bradford station or the legislative power to build the railway between Manchester and Manchester Airport.

“That’s the most important thing, let’s get on with it.”

Coun Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “The case for Bradford to be on the mainline is clear.

“Both Conservative and Labour Ministers have both said that they clearly see the economic benefit for the North of connecting Bradford on the mainline and have agreed with us that it should happen.”

She said the council is “on track” to complete this business case by the end of the year and added that “it is progressing well”.