WARRINGTON South MP David Mowat has accused Labour councillors in the town of being “out of touch” over proposals for new high speed rail links to the North West.
His comments follow the refusal by the borough council’s Labour group to back a motion welcoming the High Speed Rail 2 Project, which will link London with Manchester and Leeds.
Labour would not support the motion because it contained a reference to the Coalition Government’s commitment to creating jobs and prosperity in the North.
Coun Terry O’Neill, leader of the Labour group, said the Government had not shown such commitment and in fact was losing thousands of jobs in the region.
He described the rail project as “a train to nowhere.”
But Mr Mowat (right) retorted: “These kinds of comment show just how out of touch Labour are. The HS2 project will bring significant benefits to the North West region as well as cutting journey times from Manchester to London.
“Travellers on other routes will also benefit from the increased capacity on existing lines. This project is good for commuters, good for business and good for the North West.
“HS2 has huge potential as it could link with the Channel Tunnel, Heathrow Airport and the West Coast Mainline, potentially benefiting Warrington.
“Even at a time of cuts, the Coalition Government is still willing to fund major infrastructure projects which bring significant economic benefits. I will be supporting this project all the way through Parliament and doing all that I can to ensure that Warrington gets maximum benefit from the project.”
The Government estimates the new line would cut travelling time between London and Manchester by a third to between 75-80 minutes.
