PM says criticism of railroads ‘rubbish’, but journalist calls out online

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Boris Johnson has defended himself against charges of treason from the North after resuming rail promises for Yorkshire – calling criticism “total garbage”.

During a visit to North Yorkshire on Thursday, the Prime Minister insisted that the Tories ‘are leveling out across the country’ and offering people in the Midlands and North with suburban services at a level similar to that of the South East.

But Channel 4 reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy challenged him by telling Johnson he was breaking his commitments on transport between Leeds and Manchester.

‘Total garbage’

“You promised Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester and you were talking about speed, not capacity. Do you think Northerners are stupid? He asked.

Johnson told Guru-Murthy he was talking about “total garbage” and that the government was “doubling the capacity” between the two cities.

When told he was “actually reducing capacity to what it would have been” Johnson was quick to respond: “We are tripling the capacity between Liverpool and Manchester and of course there will be people who always want to. all at once.

“And there’s a lot of people saying, well look, what we should be doing is digging huge new railroads through virgin land, smashing unspoiled countryside and villages and doing it all at the same time. time.

“Now the problem is, these super high speed lines take decades and don’t provide the commuter benefits I’m talking about. We will eventually do them. I mean we’re building over 100 miles.

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The reporter further urged Johnson to “derail the leveling up” by breaking his promises after “crashing the sleazy car”.

But Johnson insisted, “Total garbage, total garbage, you mean total garbage. It is the largest investment in rail in the history of the country, or at least in 100 years. And that’s a fantastic thing.

Another manifest promise broken?

The exchange comes after the Tories pledged in their 2019 election manifesto that they would build Northern Powerhouse Rail between Leeds and Manchester.

And last year, Johnson gave the green light to HS2, so that a high speed train would be available for Leeds.

But the new plans involve the removal of the eastern part of HS2, the reduction of the Northern Powerhouse Rail and the introduction of an integrated rail plan.

This means that the NPR will lead to improvements to existing rail lines and HS2 trains from East Midlands to Leeds will run on existing lines.

The new proposals came under heavy criticism, with Labor leader Keir Starmer saying Johnson was “letting everyone down in the North”.

Meanwhile, Huw Merriman, conservative chairman of the Commons Transport Committee, also accused the prime minister of breaking his promises.

“The PM promised that HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail were neither an option and those in Leeds and Bradford could be forgiven for considering him today to be neither “, did he declare.

He added, “There is the danger of selling perpetual sunlight and letting others explain the arrival of moonlight.”

Related: ‘Betrayal’: Angry Reactions As Government Derails North Of HS2

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