'In the dark' mayor and council leader write to Rishi Sunak over 'massive ramifications' of axing HS2 to Manchester

Manchester Evening News readers have been having their say on the issue of 'out-of-town' taxi drivers after Andy Burnham said the widespread practice was 'undermining public safety'. According to a Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, 8,952 private hire drivers licensed by Wolverhampton Council are on the roads in Greater Manchester.

A total of 24 fines are to be handed out for the notorious 'jingle and mingle' Christmas party at the Tory headquarters during lockdown. It took place in December 2020 at the Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) for activists on behalf of Shaun Bailey’s unsuccessful effort to be London mayor.

Andy Burnham has pleaded with people not to use taxis licensed by a council 80 miles away.

Bolton’s link to the rest of Greater Manchester could end up being the unlikely beneficiary of the scrapping of HS2 as plans to bring the Metrolink tram service to the town look on the cards. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled plans to invest nearly £4billion on improving connectivity in the Northern towns and cities when the HS2 link from Birmingham to Manchester was axed last week.

More than a third of private hire taxi drivers in Greater Manchester are licensed by a council that operates around 80 miles away in Wolverhampton.

More than 200 people in Greater Manchester may have died due to air pollution since the Clean Air Zone was supposed to start, campaigners have claimed. The controversial scheme which was set to come into force last year before it was delayed could have also prevented 496 days spent in hospital due to respiratory conditions if it cut pollution as intended, they argue.

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Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh has praised a viral parody of the film targeted at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak – check it out below.The parody video titled “Trainstopping”, created by JOE.co.uk, reimagines the “Choose Life” scene from Danny Boyle’s 1996 film with Sunak as Ewan McGregor’s character Mark Renton.The reworked version of the speech reads: “Choose life. Choose net zero. Choose clean air.

Andy Burnham says the decision to cancel Manchester’s HS2 link means the city is only ‘temporarily derailed’.

The Manchester leg of HS2 has been cancelled, the Prime Minister has confirmed today. The high-speed railway line, which is currently being built between London and Birmingham, will not reach the North of England as planned.It follows weeks of speculation over the fate of the second phase of the multi-billion pound scheme. Ministers have repeatedly refused to confirm whether HS2 line to Manchester will go ahead since reports first emerged last month that the government was considering shelving the plans due to concerns about spiraling costs and severe delays.

Rishi Sunak - widely expected to announce the axing of the Manchester leg of HS2 - will criticise decades of politicians making 'the easy decision, not the right one' when he takes to the stage at the Conservative Party Conference in the heart of the city.

Andy Burnham has reacted with fury after reports HS2 trains will come to Manchester - but on 'normal tracks'. Sky News tonight reported that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has decided to drastically alter the northern leg of the high-speed rail project to save money, effectively scrapping the high-speed stretch to Manchester.

Rishi Sunak laughed after he was grilled by Susanna Reid about 'letting down the people of Manchester' amid reports he is planning to axe the northern HS2 leg.

This is an opinion letter and does not necessarily represent the views of the Manchester Evening News.

It's over four years since Andy Burnham announced Bolton, Stockport and Wigan were next in line to be connected to the Metrolink network.

There should be a dedicated cabinet minister for the north a group of Tory MPs have claimed. They are also calling for half a million new homes to be built in the region as part of a 'manifesto for the north' which is to be unveiled at party's conference in Manchester.

Boris Johnson has said delaying or cutting the HS2 route to Manchester would be a 'betrayal' of the North of England.

An independent inquiry into the treatment of women and girls in Greater Manchester Police custody has issued an open appeal for others to come forward and share their experiences.

Manchester Airport has called for the HS2 rail line to be built in full as promised - from London to Manchester.

The Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, has been warned he is 'risking the cohesion' of the country over HS2, as Labour mayors including Andy Burnham said axing the high-speed rail route to Manchester would result in 'international embarrassment and a national outrage'.