Cutting HS2 short of central London undermines the whole purpose of the scheme - The Yorkshire Post says

The redeveloped Euston station may not open until 2038 and could be axed completely with trains instead stopping at a new hub at Old Oak Common in west London’s suburbs, due to soaring inflation.

But people and businesses in the North want access to central London. Not only is it the main hub for commerce but opens up connectivity up more widely to the capital and indeed the rest of the world.

On the day that the Chancellor set out an ambition of “becoming the world's next Silicon Valley”, curtailing HS2 would be antithetical to such a vision.

Yorkshire has a vibrant tech sector but it is one that has long been hamstrung by a lack of access to funding decision makers.

By delivering HS2 in full, including a line that goes up to Leeds, it would enable them to stand in front of venture capital firms.

Paring back HS2 would bring it one step closer to being at risk of becoming a white Elephant - a monument to the failure to level up.

It’s emblematic of this Government that it should pour billions of pounds into a project only to pull the plug on the infrastructure so that it no longer meets its initial objectives.

Lord Berkeley, who was behind an HS2 review commissioned by ex-prime minister Boris Johnson, says “I think the whole thing should be cancelled.”

He makes a valid point of the need to spend money on improving railway lines in the north, east and west but that shouldn’t come at the cost of better connectivity to the capital.