Reform UK would axe any high-speed northern rail schemes, says Richard Tice
A Reform government would axe any high-speed rail schemes earmarked for the north, the party’s deputy leader has warned.Richard Tice said companies considering bidding for contracts should “not bother” as the party would “spend the money instead on things the country needs more”.Labour is expected this month to announce it is reviving Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR), with leading figures backing a new £17bn Liverpool-Manchester line as a first step in a full railway running across the north.The NPR scheme was originally backed by the previous government – but the line linking Liverpool and Manchester was due to share parts of the HS2 northern leg axed by Rishi Sunak in 2023.Labour has yet to confirm its plans but the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, hinted at news in her budget speech, and sources last month told the Guardian that the government would announce its commitment before the start of the party conference, shoring up northern support.
However, with Reform now polling substantially higher, the party’s intervention could place any scheme in further doubt.Tice made the comments in the foreword to a highly critical report for Policy Exchange, which was written by the former no 10 transport adviser and long-term opponent of HS2, Andrew Gilligan.Tice said the view of politicians such as the Greater Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, that high-speed rail would win support for Labour was “diametrically wrong”.He said: “Outside a bubble of politicians, journalists and construction industry lobbyists, the voters of the north do not want, and never have wanted, a handful of high-speed rail lines, serving a handful of big cities … They want the money to be spent on the often failing railways (and roads) that they actually use.”He said ministers were “about to commit to further high-speed rail schemes which could make HS2’s problems and price tag look trivial”.
He added: “To anyone tempted to bid for the Liverpool-Manchester high-speed scheme, or the revived northern leg of HS2, I give this warning: do not bother.”Gilligan’s report claimed that journeys between the cities on the high-speed line would take one minute longer than current train services because the new line would serve Manchester airport.He said tunnelling under Manchester city centre to link conventional lines would be a better option, creating a network serving destinations east to Bradford, Leeds and Sheffield.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionHenri Murison, the chief executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, said threats to scrap proposed links would hold back jobs, investment and productivity.He said: “The chancellor is on the brink of putting forward a plan to build a modern, reliable rail network that northern businesses and communities have been calling for.
For Reform to propose scrapping this network before it’s even been properly set out shows how irresponsible they are.“They clearly expect they have northern voters in the bag, but the economic harm they would impose will worry those who care about their children and grandchildren’s future.”The NPR plan that Labour is expected to endorse would also revive part of the planned HS2 construction between Crewe and Manchester – raising the prospect, for both supporters and opponents of the high-speed rail scheme, that a future government might again extend HS2 from Birmingham and London to northern cities.A Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The north has been stuck with second-rate transport for too long, leaving communities cut off and holding back growth.The government is delivering the transport infrastructure needed for faster and more reliable journeys to create jobs and deliver stronger growth.
“We will set out our ambitions for Northern Powerhouse Rail in the near future.”
Sweet-and-sour figs and roast chicken: Ben Lippett’s savoury fig recipes
There are a handful of moments on the culinary calendar that feel like striking gold: rhubarb in January, peas and broad beans in spring, summer cherries and tomatoes, and, for just a few short weeks in late-summer, figs. Typically, they might be torn over yoghurt and granola for breakfast or baked into a tart with frangipane, but they belong in the savoury kitchen, too. Combined with salt, savoury ingredients and a little vinegar, a good fig will bring a gorgeous sweet-sour note to your dinner table.As the warmer months come to an end, I like to cook with both comfort and freshness in mind. Rich, buttery, warming polenta is offset with a vibrant, bright, jammy topping of onions, rosemary and torn figs
How to make perfect nanaimo bars – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …
Canadians are famously nice – think laid-back Keanu Reeves, sunny Pamela Anderson, the charmingly incompetent Inspector Gadget – except when it comes to their beloved nanaimo bars. Get the ratio of this three-tier national treasure wrong, as the New York Times stood accused of doing in 2021, when its Instagram account posted a picture of squares that one user described as “an insult to Canadians everywhere”, and you’ll discover you can push them only so far.The Times is not alone in attracting ire. So popular are nanaimo (pronounced nuh-NYE-mo) bars, named after the British Columbian town where they are said to have originated, that Canada Post put them on a stamp in 2019 … only to face similar howls of outrage, albeit in Canadian: “One hesitates to be critical,” Nanaimo’s mayor explained carefully, “but it’s not a very accurate depiction.”In short, Canadians, who in 2006 voted the nanaimo bar the “nation’s favourite confection”, feel very strongly about these sugary little treats, a mainstay of kids’ birthday parties, wedding buffets and funeral teas from Nanaimo to Nova Scotia, though if Justin Trudeau had any problem with the version served up by White House chefs during his state dinner with Barack Obama in 2016, he was too polite to say so
The Duck & Rice, London SW11: ‘Filling, but largely unmemorable’ – restaurant review
Not really your typical bowl-of-noodles stopgap jointThe Duck & Rice, the Chinese gastropub in Soho, London, has opened a second site in Battersea power station’s shopping precinct. To be fair, my use of the word “precinct” to describe this lovingly titivated landmark feels a bit shabby, as does “retail experience”. And plain old “mall” definitely won’t do, because Battersea’s collection of 150-odd shops is very much in the la-di-da, aspirational, lululemon, Mulberry and Malin+Goetz range of money-frittering, all set over multiple floors with dramatic mezzanines. This is a sumptuous paean to industrial chic, with pleasing air-conditioning and polished floors, and there is currently no more jocund and luxurious a place in London to spend money you don’t have on things you don’t need.In keeping with all this luxury, Battersea’s flagship restaurant right now is the new Duck & Rice, created 10 years ago by the renowned Hong Kong-born British restaurateur Alan Yau OBE, who also founded the likes of Wagamama, Yauatcha and Hakkasan
From Vietnam to Costa Rica, putting ice in beer is nothing new | Letters
In the tropics, ice in your beer is normal (Ice cubes in beer: is this popular pub order atrocious – or ingenious?, Pass notes, 2 September). In Vietnamese restaurants, servers wander around taking partially melted ice blocks out of your glass and replacing them with new ones. Of course, this is fine with low-cost options such as 333, Bia Saigon and even Tiger. The beer stays cold, and in any case it is drunk rather quickly with little chance of any meaningful dilution. Would I put ice in a pint of Pasteur Street Jasmine IPA or Heart of Darkness Dream Alone pale ale? I would not
Benjamina Ebuehi’s recipe for chocolate and malted buttercream cake | The sweet spot
Being a twin, I’ve always shared a birthday cake. Each year, I ask my sister what I should bake and the answer is almost never chocolate, despite it being one of my favourite cake flavours. However, this year, I’ll be changing that and making this lovely, fudgy two-layer chocolate cake filled and topped with a luscious, malty buttercream that I could eat by the spoonful. If you want to make it extra celebratory, swap the chocolate shavings for sprinkles.Prep 10 min Cook 1 hr Serves 12315g plain flour 150g caster sugar 120g light brown sugar 50g cocoa powder 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda ¼ tsp fine sea salt 3 large eggs 60ml neutral oil 225g plain yoghurt 115g unsalted butter, melted170ml hot brewed coffeeFor the malted buttercream250g unsalted butter 1 tsp vanilla bean paste 40ml whole milk 50g malted milk powder (eg, Horlicks)175g icing sugar¼ tsp fine sea salt Milk chocolate, shaved, to finishHeat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and grease and line two 20cm loose-bottomed cake tins
Losing the taste for vegan restaurants | Letters
Isobel Lewis’s article on vegan restaurants suggests two reasons that they may be closing: general problems in the hospitality industry and a shift in cultural values (The plant-based problem: why vegan restaurants are closing – or adding meat to the menu, 2 September). Surely, it’s missing the real reason? I am vegetarian, but I rarely eat in vegetarian or vegan restaurants because I rarely dine out alone.People usually want to dine with their partner, or their friends. Quite a few people are vegan, but far fewer couples are likely to both be vegan. Even fewer friend groups are all vegan
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