Tory MPs have privately voiced concerns to ITV News' Jasmine Cameron-Chileshe that the government could scrap the Northern Leg of HS2. | ITV National News
The project, which was estimated to cost £55.7 billion in 2015, could cost upwards of £100 billion, according to estimates leaked in 2020.
HS2 was central to the government's promise to level up the UK and is a policy that cuts directly into the heart of the Midlands and North of England, and in some Tory red wall seats - hard won from Labour in the last general election. Certainly, instead of outlining the government's core priorities and policy objectives, the prime minister was forced to spend the morning rejecting claims that he's not committed to levelling up.
But having let speculation and rumours run rife, the government is now in danger of losing the narrative on this issue.If ministers opt to scrap or delay the Northern leg, it could look tone deaf given the scale of opposition from regional mayors who have now accused the government of treating Northern like "second class citizens".
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