Manchester leg of HS2 scrapped as Oldham residents react

Following PM Rishi Sunak confirmed that HS2, a high-speed railway line that was expected to take just 63 minutes from Manchester Piccadilly to London Euston, will be scrapped from Birmingham The Oldham Times took to the streets to gauge reaction.  

Rishi Sunak (Image: PA Media)

“It’s a slap in the face for the north, it’s what you would expect,” 57-year-old Mark Livesey said.

“It’s the rich protecting the rich as always. The Tory party all-in-all are back to where they have always been - they said we can have a train to the airport which we already have.”

While delivering the news to the country earlier this month, the Prime Minister announced that new funding to Greater Manchester could mean the Metrolink tram network extended to the airport – the link was opened in 2014.

The Oldham man continued: “When the government stops receiving cross party support then it’s not going to go ahead, and they’ve wasted billions in the process and then sabotaged it and will sell back all the land on compulsory purchases.”

HS2 was first set up by Gordon Brown’s Labour government in 2009 and in 2013 was estimated to cost £37.5 billion in 2009 prices. Two years later a budget of £55.7 billion was allocated for the entirety of the HS2, but due to inflation costs are reported to have now surpassed £100 billion.

As of June, £24.7 billion has been spent on the project.

Glen Woolfenden, a 59-year-old postman from Lees, told The Oldham Times that the money “wasted” buying land could have been spent on other essential projects across the country.

He said: “I think they should have gone ahead with it. They should have started from Manchester in the first place.

Glen Woolfenden (Image: Newsquest)

“I don’t use the train a lot myself but it would’ve been useful, and it feels like another case of the south looking after the south – they look after their own.

“They’ve spent so much anyway, they’ve bought all the land needed to build it and it’s just going to go to waste.”

Mr Woolfenden continued: “I’m a big cyclist myself and there are definitely some roads in Oldham that I wouldn’t want to ride on - they could’ve spent the money they wasted on fixing the roads.”

Muhammed Bashir (Image: Newsquest)

Seventy-three-year-old Muhammed Bashir, of Oldham, said: “It’s no good them stopping, it’s not right. They should be going ahead with it as promised because the people need it.”

Tommy and Jene Burke, 74 and 72 respectively, meanwhile suggested that projects to improve the south of England are favoured over similar initiatives to better the north.

Tommy and Jene Burke (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Burke said: “They shouldn’t have started it in the first place but it’s wrong to scrap it now – they’ve spent billions already!

“It’s the South getting all the preferences all the time.”

Mrs Burke added: “Can we not pay the taxes if we’re not getting anything?”