The British government on Thursday unveiled a new railway strategy to better connect the center and the north to the rest of the country, criticized by the opposition as a "
betrayal
" of the promises of Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
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Transport Minister Grant Shapps spoke to Parliament of an “
unprecedented
” effort
, with a “
huge investment
” of 96 billion pounds that will notably “
create three high-speed lines
” and electrify several hundred kilometers of rail.
"
This is one of the biggest rebalancing efforts
" between the south and the north of the country, considered to be less well served in infrastructure, "
in the history of all
British
governments
", he insisted.
Strong criticism
In vehement criticism, Labor MP Jim McMahon, representing Oldman near Leeds, accused "
this rotten government
" of "
completely selling us out
".
He particularly deplored the removal of a section of the high-speed line under construction HS2 which was to serve Leeds via Birmingham.
Another arm of this line, from the center of the country to Manchester, in the north-west, remains in place.
"
We were promised a new line, (Boris Johnson, the Conservative Prime Minister) broke his promise,
" he added, speaking of "
a massive blow to our region
".
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This gigantic project with a budget exceeding 100 billion pounds is to give birth to the first line to north London in 150 years and would be the second high-speed line in the country after HS1, used in the south-east of England by the 'Eurostar.
Work began in April 2020 for the first section, London-Birmingham, and several French construction giants, such as Vinci and Eiffage, are taking part.
Scottish MP Gavin Newlands quipped, calling on the government to seek advice from France or Germany on their developed high-speed rail networks.
Rachel Reeves, Labor responsible for financial matters, called the new strategy on the BBC "
hopelessly disappointing
".
Boris Johnson losing speed
This controversy comes at a politically sensitive time for Boris Johnson, whose government faces corruption charges and is grappling with the dispute with Brussels over the application of the Northern Irish protocol in the context of Brexit, after having organized a COP26 with mixed results.
The popularity of the Prime Minister and the Conservative Party are suffering, according to recent polls.
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The Johnson government says the new plan will accelerate regional links in the north and center faster and more cheaply compared to the pharaonic HS2 project, plagued by delays, cost inflation and controversy over its environmental impact.
At the same time, the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has stepped up to ask not to forget London's public transport, arguing that the country's recovery depends on the vitality of the capital and that without new funds by December 11 the services will be drastically reduced.
