Former chancellor urges ‘HS3’ rail for northern England

George Osborne, former chancellor, has urged Theresa May to commit to building high-speed rail lines across the north of England.

Osborne called on the Prime Minister to back the ‘northern powerhouse’ and build high-speed rail links across northern England. Failing to do so would risk allowing the capital to continue to grow faster than the rest of the country, he said.

Osborne told BBC Radio 4 that London was a ‘fantastic city, but [the UK] can’t just be a one-trick pony as a country, and cities like Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds Liverpool, Hull, they need to be allowed to grow and become stronger’.

He added: “In the end, the transport links between them are absolutely central and building these high-speed lines would enable people to commute, and enable businesses to attract more talent and bring investment to the north.”

Writing in the Financial Times, Osborne said: “Far be it from me to offer advice to the prime minister on how to relaunch her premiership this autumn, but making this big commitment to the north at the Conservative conference in Manchester would not be a bad place to start.”

May has said she remains committed to delivering the HS2 north-south railway, but is cautious about supporting HS3.

She told the Yorkshire Post: “The issue is there are a number of options that are being looked at in relation to HS3 or northern powerhouse rail. But what I would say is those big projects are not the only way in which we are looking to invest in transport in the region.”

Under phase one of HS2, due to open in December 2026, trains will travel at high speed between London and Birmingham before continuing on from Birmingham on the existing west coast mainline.

A second Y-shaped phase will open in two stages: the first - from the West Midlands to Crewe - will open in 2027; and the second - from Crewe to Manchester and from the West Midlands to Leeds, South Yorkshire and the East Midlands - will open in 2033.