Scrapping HS2 would be an act of betrayal that will blight the North – and the Tory party

Editorial: High Speed Two, first conceived in the days of the Brown government, was supposed to help unlock the potential of the whole of the nation. What, it must be asked, will do so now?

An artist’s impression of the 225mph trains promised as part of the HS2 plan

I am passionate about this project because, time and again, we have this debate in our country about how we’re going to bring the gap between North and South together, about how we’re going to make sure that our growth is not just based on the City of London.

“High Speed Two is about changing the economic geography of this country, making sure the North and the Midlands benefit from the recovery as well.”

It is now almost exactly a decade ago that the then chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, uttered those confident words about this great national project.