Tag: demmonstration

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Scrapping HS2 Northern Leg Will Worsen North-South Divide

Northern council leaders have warned that 27,000 new jobs would not be created if HS2’s northern leg is scrapped

Recently Cheshire and Warrington’s council leaders and the region’s LEP have written to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak expressing their deep concern over the rumours that the government is seriously considering scrapping of HS2’s northern leg.

The letter has been signed by Cllr Sam Corcoran, leader of Cheshire East Council, Cllr Craig Browne, deputy leader of Cheshire East Council, Cllr Louise Gittins, leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, Cllr Russ Bowden, leader of Warrington Borough Council and Clare Hayward, chair of Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership.

In it they say that scrapping the northern leg will undoubtably worsen the north-south divide thus effectively leaving the government’s so called levelling up agenda meaningless.

However Rishi Sunak is reportedly reviewing how the cost of HS2 can be ‘controller’s he states that the cost of delivering it has apparently crippled since its conception. Sunak appears to have no qualms in cancelling the northern leg, after all the fact that he’s considering it speaks volumes in itself. For those in Greater Manchester it’s the worst scenario after putting years of hard work into plans and policies and vast amounts of money.

Once again the north has been promised the earth, but all it seems we’ll get is scorched earth,” said one council leader “For the government to even be thinking about scrapping the northern leg is just madness and I find it difficult to comprehend the logic behind it.”

Another added ominously: “If the north of England is largely left out of the HS2 loop, the north-south divide is almost certainly going to grow wider.”

The HS2 project was created by Gordon Brown’s Labour government in 2009 and was envisaged to link some of the country’s largest cities and towns to London, though the Midlands up to Manchester from Euston.The 225mph railway was originally planned to run from Euston to Manchester and Leeds via Birmingham.

However the planned HS2 extension to Leeds was ended in November, 2021 then followed in the following March that the planned construction between Birmingham and Crewe would be delayed by two years, and that promised services might not reach central London until the 2040s.

But it’s not just about the physical creation of providing high speed train travel. It came with the promise from the government that this project would help Greater Manchester to level up and help to realign regional imbalances after the government acknowledged that the north is neglected north.

Along with this came the promises of what HS2 could bring to Manchester and the north. Amongst these and not excluding others, reduced journey times as intercity trains currently operated by Avanti West Coast would be taken off the West Coast Main Line and better capacity and links around the region and other counties through NPR.

A new Manchester Piccadilly HS2 station was also proposed which would also will incorporate Northern Powerhouse Rail links that would importantly unlock east-west journeys thus potentially boosting the UK’s economy and productivity, as well as Manchesters.

The leader of Manchester city council, Bev Craig, gave an impassioned plea to government in June, urging HS2 to be built right – and built once – here, with a four-platform underground station rather than a station above ground running into Manchester on concrete stilts, as proposed by HS2 Ltd. HS2 in Manchester, she said, would result in subsequent regeneration bringing in more jobs, residents and visitors to the city centre – plans she described as a ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’.

The government has always rejected the underground argument for Manchester as too costly. But reports suggest Mr Sunak could offer an underground station for Piccadilly and reallocate savings made on HS2 to rail in the north in a bid to placate local leaders – that or a HS2 delay to Manchester of many years, saying that scrapping HS2 to Manchester, she said, would mean levelling-up ‘is dead’.

“The government has not officially communicated any intention to us about what they plan to do around HS2 to Manchester,” Coun Craig said. “As of yet, there is no clear indication from government as to what action will be taken.

That’s why Andy Burnham and I have written to the Prime Minister demanding a meeting to get an update on the current status of the line and to continue to make the strong case that HS2 should not be scrapped to Manchester because to do so wouldn’t just bring long-term financial consequences for the country, but would also be the final nail in the coffin for levelling-up.”

She said there’s been no response – and there was no prior warning. “What you would be ending up with from a north to London line is something that runs from outer London to the Midlands, and doesn’t even go into the capital,” she added.

“One of the reasons that we are so committed to pushing HS2 to Manchester is not just for the economic growth that it brings, but also the huge opportunity that it offers. Because HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail – HS2 north to south, NPR getting across the north, connecting towns and cities – they need each other.

“Network Rail has said that if you were to scrap HS2 to Manchester, NPR would cost an extra £15bn. HS2 would provide the platform that NPR needs.”

She described HS2 as the ‘building blocks’. “It’s about faster trains, but it’s also about capacity. Manchester’s railways are full,” said Coun Craig. “HS2 would take all of the London trains and put them on a separate line, and that gives more capacity for the other lines to use existing tracks.

“NPR – fast connections east to west in the north of England – would also use some of that same track, they would use the track that is currently planned between Manchester Piccadilly and the airport.

“Political short-termism shouldn’t be creating long-term decisions that will create long-term economic harm. The government needs to give absolute certainty that the investment that was promised to the north will not be reneged on. We see time and time and time again commitments falling away. Where in the north of England, Greater Manchester, we are promised something, and it doesn’t follow through.

“If they do scrap HS2 and there isn’t a coherent plan, it’s for the people of Greater Manchester to drawn their own conclusions. But the conclusions that I am hearing from many Mancunians is that it gives a sign that the government simply don’t care what they think, or don’t care what the needs of businesses are, many of which are also very frustrated at the moment.

This is extremely important for the people of the north west who are desperate for job creation and future funding for already run down council budgets. As more people are losing their jobs due to previously solid department stores such as Wilkos there isn’t enough decently paid employment to cover the need.

As the public in the north west complain that their town centres are run down with shops and markets closing, the blame clearly lies with the government for taking away obscene amounts of council funding and preventing possible job creation such like those above.

While this governments in power I can’t see that any so called levelling up will happen, its just another meaningless term created by the government to keep the public quiet.

A huge thanks to everyone that reads and shares my blog. It’s still vitally important that we continue to hold the UK government to account.

If you like my work please consider subscribing to my blog. You will then be notified of any new posts that I upload.

Lastly I have a big ask, one which I don’t like making.

To say I’m struggling financially at the moment is an understatement, as it stands I can’t afford to pay both my home internet bill, my mobile phone credit top up and also the everyday things that we need to continue.

I don’t want to have to give up blogging but I may have to considering the above.

Sadly I’m also still living with long covid which is physically and mentally exhausting and my anxiety is really bad on some days.

Any help will directly help me to continue with my work.

Thank you .

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An Observation Of Life On The Streets Of Manchester

My ramblings.

First published a few years ago but nothing much has changed.

I notice a young homeless girl living on the street. She has her blankets and bags next to her ready for the night ahead.
She should be excited about life but instead she looks lost. She has a can of beer next to her, she says to numb the pain and cold.

She’s sat with a group of men, also homeless but seems detached from them. I ask her if she is ok, and she says that she is and that there’s safety in numbers.
She needs to keep safe. As a woman living on the streets life can be very dangerous. Even if you don’t like the people you are sitting next to you stay with them she says. They are her protection.

She wants to make enough money for a b&b for the night, but says she has given up all hope of finding a permanent home because she has addiction issues and feels unable to deal with them. She will one day she says.
After saying this her facial expression changes as worry weighs down heavily on her mind. A weight that she feels can’t be lifted at the moment.

Whilst we are talking a young man rushes past, earphones on looks anxious. Perhaps late for an appointment. He doesn’t notice the homeless girl sat near him. He’s self consumed with himself and his journey. She says that she sees this all the time.

Her wish, she says is that people would be nice to one another. She would like more people to say hello, but they don’t and she looks down again.

A lady walks past walking her dog. People stop and compliment her on her dog. They don’t notice the young girl, but they notice the dog. I feel that this is rather sad. A vulnerable human life appears to be less important.

A teenage boy stands next to the homeless girl. He says hello to her and asks her if she would mind if he plays some music and starts rapping. She welcomes it.

His rapping consists of the story of his life, that he has encountered prejudice, loss and also some lovely things.
People start to give him money, but instead of keeping it himself he gives it to the homeless girl. He tells her that she is important, that she is loved and not to give up.

He tells her that one day, life will get better because his did. She smiles and thanks him.
Maybe, just maybe that one act of kindness gave her the strength to carry on.
I’d like to think that she kept warm for that night.