Are the Tories going to spend all week in Manchester talking but not talking about HS2? Speculation that Rishi Sunak might chop a leg off the line has now been swirling for more than a week, but the Prime Minister and his ministers are refusing to offer any further details.
Yesterday, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he wanted to be asked about something else at a fringe, while Sunak himself said he wouldn’t comment on ‘speculation’. This never makes the questions go away, and they know it.
Even with these pots of money, there isn’t enough tangible evidence that any sort of levelling up is happening
There are some rumours at the Conservative conference this morning that there might actually be an announcement on the future of the line today, which would go some way to explaining why ministers have been resisting offering details. But it is a contrast with the way Sunak handled the early leaking of his changes to net zero policy: when the plans appeared in the papers, the Prime Minister hastily brought forward his speech on the matter and ended the speculation.
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