Fears mount that Boris Johnson will ditch key HS2 railway to Red Wall

The Government is refusing to say whether the high speed line’s eastern leg will go ahead

Fears are mounting that the Tories will abandon a key rail link to the Red Wall – despite promises it would go ahead.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps refused to guarantee the eastern leg of HS2 – the high speed line to Leeds – would still be built.

It comes after the Mirror exclusively revealed regional leaders’ growing worries the Conservatives were poised to ditch the pledge.

Mr Shapps told the Financial Times ministers should not “blindly follow” old plans.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak visited a rail building site in Manchester, where they are attending the Tory Party conference.

Instead of the high speed railway to Yorkshire, they are thought to be considering improving regional rail lines, including pumping cash into Northern Powerhouse Rail which will link major towns and cities.

Speaking at a Network Rail construction site in Manchester, Mr Johnson said he wanted a “high-wage, high-skilled economy where we invest in people, invest in fantastic infrastructure like this behind me”.

But the PM’s spokesman refused to say whether HS2’s eastern leg will be built – and instead pointed to the long-delayed Integrated Rail Plan.

“It wouldn’t be right for me to comment ahead of the plan being published,” said the spokesman.

“I don’t have a specific timetable for you. It will be published shortly.”

A Red Wall Conservative MP told the Mirror local voters wanted better transport connections across the North rather than quicker links to London.

“Half of my voters have never been to London,” they said.

“They care far more about getting around their local area than whether they can get to somewhere a bit quicker even though they’re never going to go there anyway.”

But Shadow Transport Secretary Jim McMahon said: “You cannot trust a word the Tories say.

“Expecting people to accept endless rebadging of promises made years ago is insulting.

“Poor transport connectivity continues to hold back the North, Midlands and beyond and the Conservatives’ record is one of total failure to deliver.

“Communities that stand to lose out once again – thanks to the Government’s incompetence and inability to keep projects on track – will rightly feel betrayed by yet another broken promise dressed up as a new announcement.”

In a letter to Mr Shapps, Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association general secretary Manuel Cortes warned: “any rowing back on commitments to build HS2 in full would be seen as a betrayal by communities and constituencies from Birmingham, to Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds.

“For Government to turn its back on the Eastern leg of the project would be myopic and foolhardy in the extreme.

“This should be obvious to any Government serious about levelling up because at a time of great economic difficulties the way forward is not through cutting national infrastructure plans, but rather making good on commitments to such investment, so that stronger regional economies can be built and prosper.

“HS2 is absolutely key in this regard – because we are talking about the fastest and greenest form of transport available.

“It’s a huge public good, connecting major conurbations, needed in Leeds as much as London.”

Northern Powerhouse Partnership director Henri Murison said: “We should build from the North, delivering the Eastern Leg of HS2 with the new line needed to get from Leeds to Sheffield first, unlocking connectivity benefits for those areas sooner, then connecting to the East Midlands and London.

“Bradford needs a new station on the Northern Powerhouse Rail line, creating capacity on an electrified line towards Leeds as well as on a new route to Manchester.

“The government needs to deliver the Integrated Rail Plan with no further delay, building from the North the Eastern Leg to rebalance the UK economy, make a prosperous Northern Powerhouse and level up.”