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05-10-2023
LONDON: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ended long-running speculation Wednesday by announcing he was scrapping part of a massive high-speed rail scheme, during a keynote speech closing his ruling Conservatives’ annual conference.
His much-anticipated address in northwest England effectively fired the starting gun on Britain’s next general election campaign, with a vote widely expected to take place next year.
“I’m ending this long-running saga,” Sunak told delegates to loud applause and cheering, confirming that he was cancelling the northern leg of the HS2 train line, a highly contentious move that has overshadowed the yearly event.
“I’m cancelling the rest of the HS2 project and in its place we will reinvest every single penny, £36 billion ($43.6 billion), in hundreds of new transport projects in the north, in the Midlands, across the country,” he told the Conservative party conference in Manchester, northwest England, a proposed terminus for the new rail link.
The 43-year-old UK leader faces a daunting challenge rallying the Tories to win the election due to occur by January 2025 at the latest, after several years of damaging scandals and deep economic woes.
The party, in power since 2010, has lagged behind the main Labour opposition in polls throughout Sunak’s tenure but signs that the gap could be narrowing have provided a glimmer of hope as the grassroots gathered.
Sunak continued a recent shift into campaign mode, upping attacks on Labour after a flurry of more populist policy announcements and pivots aimed at drawing dividing lines with the main opposition.
The decision to scrap HS2 is unpopular with some Tories.
Andy Street, mayor of the West Midlands region that encompasses Birmingham, is considering quitting in protest.
He reportedly cancelled a planned trip abroad Wednesday to remain in Manchester for the announcement.
Sunak, who has been premier for nearly a year, characterized the decision as fiscally prudent due to spiraling costs.
“I say to those who backed the project in the first place, the facts have changed and the right thing to do when the facts change is to have the courage to change direction,” he said.
He is trying to portray himself as a leader willing to take tough and sometimes unpopular decisions. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
