A list of transport projects to be funded using HS2 money, which included schemes that had already been built or were swiftly deleted, was intended only to be “illustrative”, the prime minister has said.
Speaking to the BBC, Rishi Sunak repeatedly dodged or refused to answer questions about the list, which was published alongside his announcement that the northern leg of the HS2 rail link would be scrapped.
Announcing the HS2 plan during his speech to the Conservative party conference in Manchester last week, Sunak promised that £36bn saved from it would be used for other road, rail and transport links.
Among projects cited were to upgrade an A-road link to Southampton which in fact goes to Littlehampton, to extend the Metrolink tram to Manchester airport, which happened in 2014, and several projects which were swiftly deleted from the list, including £100m for a mass transit system in Bristol, and reopening the Leamside line in County Durham.
Sunak told BBC Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine show that the list had not been mistaken or misleading, saying these were just examples of the sort of plans that might be included.
“There’s a range of illustrative projects that could be funded,” he said. “But ultimately, it’s going to be local leaders who are in charge. Rather than Westminster politicians dictating to areas what they should do, lots of money is going to be given to local areas for them to decide on their priorities.”
Sunak otherwise sought not to engage with questions on the transport projects. Asked why he had pledged to quadruple the number of trains between Sheffield and Leeds when there are already up to five an hour each way, he said: “I’m not sure I recognise the numbers.”
The interview came after a trip by Sunak to Nottinghamshire for a so-called PM Connect event, a break from the normal protocol of prime ministers refraining from such overtly political events when the opposition’s party conference is taking place.
Sunak’s interview took place shortly after Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, had delivered her speech to the Labour conference in Liverpool.
Speaking during a visit to a Currys repair and customer service centre in Newark, Sunak also defended his HS2 decision. He faced a question from one worker who asked why people should vote for him given “the mess left by your predecessor”, winning a round of applause.
In response, Sunak reiterated the argument from his conference speech that despite being the fifth prime minister in 13 years of Conservative rule, he was the politician to oversee “change in the direction of our country”.
“I’m hungry to deliver that change for you, but I’ve got to tell you, that change is not just a function of which party is in power,” he said.
“I could spend a lot of my time talking about the past and what happened, and whatever I inherited and all the rest of it, which I’ve touched on, but that doesn’t help any of you.
“What we need to figure out is what’s the right thing for our country going forward. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
