It’s probably safe to assume that there wasn’t a grand plan in Downing Street for the Conservative Party conference to become overwhelmed by speculation about HS2.
In his interview with BBC Breakfast this morning, Rishi Sunak insisted that his colleagues are not talking about the railway, but instead about his new policies on net zero and motorists.
Last night I was chatting to two MPs, both very supportive of the prime minister, one broadly in favour of the northern leg being scrapped, one somewhat opposed.
From then, the cat was out of the bag that the project was at least under review, even if it took more bouts of briefing and leaks for it to become clear that Mr Sunak was leaning towards cancelling the line.
It is an opportunity for his voice, finally, to become the loudest in a conference which after all is designed to give the public a better idea of his approach to government and his personality.
Once we actually know what will happen to HS2 and what investments the government might be making instead in transport links within the north, the discussion will move onto those specifics rather than the communications difficulties the Conservatives have had on this subject.
The original article contains 319 words, the summary contains 204 words. Saved 36%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!