Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

The north-south rebrand won’t stop HS2 becoming the new symbol of Tory disunity

There was no chance the Conservatives could come to Manchester, with a row over the future of high-speed rail raging, and not make a big thing of the proposed new railway line. But as I explained in my Telegraph column last week, the party knew that a little crafty rebranding wouldn’t go amiss, and so when Patrick McLoughlin spoke to conference this morning, he placed as much emphasis on the uniting power of the new ‘north-south’ line as he did on the economic or capacity-based arguments that the government have focused on so far. He said:

‘So here in Manchester I am proud to support HS2 – the new north-south line. Just as I’m proud to support it in cities like Sheffield. Leeds. Nottingham. Derby. Glasgow. Birmingham. In all the great cities of our country.

He added:

‘Now I promise you – I hear the critics. Boy, do I hear the critics. But the truth is we need a new north-south line to make our country stronger.

Isabel Hardman
Written by
Isabel Hardman
Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

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