The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer has responded to local leaders’ over £300m of ‘promised’ transport funding, following the cancellation of the Northern Leg of HS2.
The leaders of both Hull City Council (Cllr Mike Ross) and East Riding Council (Cllr Anne Handley) have been vocal in trying to secure the funding which was originally pledged by the previous Conservative government in February 2024.
In recent weeks Cllr Ross has written to Heidi Alexander, the Government’s Transport Secretary, asking for the funding to be given to the region. Concerns were raised when Ms Alexander described reallocated HS2 funding as “fantasy money” when the issue was raised in Parliament. Similarly, Cllr Handley directly asked the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves for the funding at the Great Northern Conference held in Hull in December.
In an exclusive interview with the the LDRS, the Prime Minister has responded to calls for the funding whilst on a visit to Hull. The Prime Minister visited pharmaceutical company Reckitt’s East Hull site where he announced plans to abolish NHS England and “cut bureaucracy” to make the state more efficient.
After his address, Mr Starmer told the LDRS that the HS2 funding “is being looked at” but insisted that under the previous government
“lots and lots of promises were made and none of them were delivered. I think people were really fed up with that, understandably so.”
He added:
“We have to deliver, but don’t promise anything you can’t deliver. We absolutely want to support Hull and the region, it’s hugely important and has a lot going on in terms of the innovation here.”
Responding to Cllr Ross’ letter at the time, a Department for Transport spokesperson said:
“Transport is an essential part of our mission to rebuild Britain, and we’re committed to improving connectivity and boosting growth across the North – working with local leaders to achieve this.
“Both Hull and East Yorkshire will receive a share of a £650m pot of transport funding, with details to be announced shortly – which is on top of the nearly £13 million being provided to the area to support and improve local bus services, and over £26 million in highways maintenance to help fix more potholes than ever before.”
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