Reform UK have pledged to scrap Northern Powerhouse Rail if they win the next election.
The proposed new rail line would provide high speed rail connections between Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds with significant upgrades across other key northern rail routes.
But in a report published this evening, Reform UK's Deputy leader Richard Tice promised his party would scrap the scheme should they win the next election, saying that companies considering bidding for contracts should “not bother”, vaguely claiming that a Reform government would “spend the money instead on things the country needs more”.
The comments have raised concerns that should they win power, Reform UK would not deliver much needed investment in the North's transport infrastructure.
Naomi Smith, Chief Executive of Best for Britain, said,
“The question here isn’t if the North needs more investment in rail, because it patently does, it’s whether Northern voters can trust Reform UK’s vague promises that they will replace this investment once they axe an existing scheme. These are the same people who told us Brexit would boost the economy and we all know how that turned out.”