UK Tory conference updates: Rishi Sunak cancels HS2 northern line

Thanks for joining us on our live coverage of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s address at the Conservative Party conference.

In case you missed it, here is an explainer of Sunak’s announcement on scrapping the northern leg of the HS2 rail line:

• Why UK PM Sunak axed part of high-speed rail link HS2

Our live coverage will shortly be coming to an end, so here are the most important developments of the day:

• Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delivered his address to the Conservative Party conference, outlining essential plans for the future and the cancellation of the northern leg of the HS2 rail line.
• Former British leader David Cameron denounced the plans and said the decision was “regrettable”.
• Chris Wilkins, a strategic adviser for former Prime Minister Theresa May, said Sunak’s speech fell short of winning the public over before the upcoming general elections.

Former Prime Minister and Conservative Party member David Cameron has shared his regrets about the plan to scrap the northern leg of the HS2 rail line.

In a lengthy post on X, Cameron wrote, “Today’s decision on HS2 is the wrong one. It will help to fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long-term as a country; that we are heading in the wrong direction. HS2 was about investing for the long-term, bringing the country together, ensuring a more balanced economy and delivering the Northern Powerhouse.”

He added that the decision throws away long-term cross-party collaboration and a transformative project for future generations.

“I regret this decision, and in years to come, I suspect many will look back at today’s announcement and wonder how this once-in-a-generation opportunity was lost,” he added.

Today’s decision on HS2 is the wrong one. It will help to fuel the views of those who argue that we can no longer think or act for the long-term as a country; that we are heading in the wrong direction.

HS2 was about investing for the long-term, bringing the country together,…

— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) October 4, 2023

In case you missed it earlier, here are the main points from Sunak’s speech at the Tory party conference in Manchester:

• The prime minister will scrap the northern leg of the HS2 rail line – it will now only stop at Birmingham. Sunak said the decision for this was due to ballooning costs and that changing the plan would free up 36 billion pounds ($43.7bn) to be used on new transport projects across the North and Midlands.
• He announced the creation of a British standard qualification for those aged 16-19, making it mandatory for everyone to study some form of English and maths. He added that more effort will be put into attracting and training new teachers who can teach the two subjects.
• Sunak also proposed raising the smoking age by one year every year so that children turning 14 this year will not be able to buy cigarettes.
• On the NHS, Sunak announced a reform programme to train and double the number of new doctors and nurses to stray from hiring from abroad and through agencies.

Chris Wilkins, a strategic adviser for former Prime Minister Theresa May, says Sunak’s speech falls well short of what’s needed to win over the public ahead of upcoming elections.

“I think it’s a big gamble what the prime minister has done today. He’s trying to say, ‘I’m not a typical Conservative. I’m different. This is about me. Choose me to be your leader.’

“But after 13 years of Conservative government, it is very difficult to do. And in his speech, the policies he announced didn’t really live up to that billing. They weren’t that radical. They weren’t particularly bold.

“There are big challenges the United Kingdom is facing, but he hasn’t chosen to address them. The policies he’s talked about are really quite small things, which aren’t really people’s concerns,” Wilkins told Al Jazeera.

In light of scrapping the northern HS2 leg, a YouGov poll tracked support for the rail line from August 2019 to May 2023, which interestingly has not grown by much since its announcement.

In 2019, only 7 percent strongly supported plans for the high-speed railway, however, the number increased to only 8 percent by 2023.

In 2019, 22 percent of people asked said they “tend to support” the plan, but that number fell to 18 percent.

Shortly after his speech, Sunak posted a video to X announcing the decision to scrap the northern leg of the HS2 rail line.

I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project.

In its place we’ll reinvest every single penny, £36 billion, into hundreds of transport projects in the North, Midlands, and across the country.

Here’s why 👇 pic.twitter.com/0GPdsqNS1E

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) October 4, 2023

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt praised Sunak’s speech on X and said it was “something else”.

Hunt wrote, “What a speech by the Prime Minister. I’ve sat through a fair few PM conference speeches now, that was something else. No messing around, decision after decision to improve our long term future. Courage too – which is why I am proud of my boss today.”

What a speech by the Prime Minister. I’ve sat through a fair few PM conference speeches now, that was something else.

No messing around, decision after decision to improve our long term future. Courage too – which is why I am proud of my boss today

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) October 4, 2023

“We will be bold. We will be radical. We will face resistance, and we will meet it. We will give the country what it so sorely needs and yet, too often, has been denied. A government prepared to make long-term decisions so that we can build a brighter future for everyone.

“Be in no doubt, it is time for a change, and we are it,” Sunak said.

Sunak announced he a plan to replace A levels – 16-19 qualification – to a five-subject British standard.

“[It] will bring together A levels and T levels into a new single qualification for our school leavers … This will finally deliver on the promise of parity of esteem between academic and technical education because all students will sit the advanced British standard.”

The prime minister addressed the issue of racism in the United Kingdom:

“The people of North Yorkshire were not interested in my colour but my character. Never let anyone tell you this is a racist country. It is not. My story is a British story. A story about how a family can go from arriving here with little to Downing Street in three generations.”

Sunak restated his pledge to prevent cross-Channel migrants from arriving on small boats. He cited deterrents such as deporting migrants to Rwanda – a policy currently on hold because of legal challenges.

“I’m confident that once flights start going regularly to Rwanda that boats will stop coming. I am confident that our approach complies with our international obligations. But know this, I will do whatever is necessary to stop the boats,” he said.

People in the UK should not be “bullied” into believing they can be any sex they want to be, says Sunak, referring to how society should deal with transgender people.

“Patients should know when hospitals are talking about men or women, and we shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be. They can’t. A man is a man, and a woman is a woman; that’s just common sense.”

“Small boat crossings are for the first time since the phenomenon began, down 20 percent this year. All while entry into Europe is up. We are by no means where we want to be but don’t let anyone tell you we aren’t making progress. We are and we will get there.

“Our new law will ensure that if you come here illegally you will detained and swiftly removed. I am confident that once flights start going regularly to Rwanda the boats will stop coming.”

On smoking, Sunak says, “I propose that in future, we raise the smoking age by one year every year. That means a 14-year-old today will never legally be sold a cigarette and that they and their generation can grow up smoke-free.”

On the NHS, he says a new workforce plan will double the number of students training to be doctors and nurses.

“It is also a reform plan for the NHS. With new ways of training and new roles of new ways of working, all driving up productivity.”

Sunak adds, “For too long, people in Westminister have invested in the transport that they want, not the transport that the rest of the country, particularly the north and the midlands, wants and needs.

“To those who will disagree and will focus on what I have stopped, I ask you to consider what we have just created with Network North – an alternative which, in place of one delayed and over-running project, will now be hundreds upon hundreds of new projects.”

On the decision to scrap the rail line, Sunak says, “Now the decision I’ve made and the stance I’m taking will be attacked. They will say that halting it (HS2) signals a lack of ambition; it will be people I respect, people in our own party who will oppose it, but there is nothing ambitious about simply pouring more and more money into the wrong project.”

“People are right; politics doesn’t work the way it should. We’ve had 30 years of a political system which incentivises the easy decision, not the right one. Thirty years of vested interest standing in the way of change. 30 years of rhetorical ambition which achieves little more than a short-term headline and why, because our political system is too focused on short-term advantage, not long-term success.”