![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/rail-upgrades-for-the-north-cut-back-in-autumn-statement-spending-squeeze/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/TELEMMGLPICT000310335047_trans_NvBQzQNjv4BqpVlberWd9EgFPZtcLiMQf0Rf_Wk3V23H2268P_XkPxc.jpeg&description=Conservative MP Esther McVey, a former cabinet minister, threatened to vote against Mr Hunt's Autumn Statement if the chancellor stood by HS2. She said hours before Mr Hunt delivered his statement to the Commons: 'Given that we have the highest burden of taxation in living memory, it is clear that the government's financial difficulties are caused by overspending and not due to under-taxing. 'Does the Deputy Prime Minister therefore agree that if the Government has got enough money to proceed with HS2 at any cost, then it has sufficient money not to increase taxes?' Mr Hunt said on Thursday: 'We will deliver the core Northern Powerhouse Rail. HS2 to Manchester. [And] East West Rail.' The Conservative party's 2019 General Election manifesto pledged to build 'Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester and then focus on Liverpool, Tees Valley, Hull, Sheffield and Newcastle'. Mr Johnson later cut the budget for the project to £17bn - a move that was overturned by Liz Truss last month, who vowed to build the £43bn scheme in full. Charlie Cornish, chief executive of the group behind Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands airports, said: 'The UK needs to be serious about levelling-up in the long-term, which is why today's commitment to Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 is welcome, especially in the context of current economic pressures. 'It is disappointing the opportunity is not being taken to deliver NPR in full, including a new line from Manchester to Leeds via a station at Bradford, which would maximise the benefits of this once-in-a-generation investment." Labour MP Louise Haigh, the shadow transport secretary, said: 'Rishi Sunak told voters he would deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail in full - now he's abandoned it. 'A lost decade of broken promises has left us with second-rate infrastructure and held our economy back. They crashed the economy, and want Northern communities to pay the price.'){kind=link}
Jeremy Hunt reverts to Boris Johnson’s core plan for Northern Powerhouse Rail
Plans for a £43bn electric railway across the North of England have been watered down in a blow to Red Wall seats desperate for better train links.
Jeremy Hunt committed only to building “core” Northern Powerhouse Rail, rowing back on a pledge by Liz Truss to complete the project in full.
Government sources confirmed that this means returning to Boris Johnson’s promise for a £17bn version of Northern Powerhouse Rail rather than spending £43bn on the complete scheme.
The decision came as he froze wider capital spending budgets.