THE YORKSHIRE Party has criticised the Government for cancelling the eastern leg of HS2 to Leeds and the new Bradford station on the proposed Leeds-Manchester line.

Yorkshire Party Leader, Bob Buxton, said: "Cancelling the highest-level projects in Yorkshire is not levelling-up, it's downgrading. It's degrading Yorkshire's potential for decades to come. The Yorkshire Party supports increased rail capacity and speed but has been wary of the project management of HS2 for years – correctly predicting that its budget would continue to spiral out of control and that Yorkshire’s interests would be sacrificed to make ends meet."

Dr Buxton, an engineer, was also sceptical of the rumoured tram network proposals for Leeds: “We await the consolation prizes with caution; a Leeds tram system is not a solution for the whole of West Yorkshire, which all candidates called for in the mayoral election. Tramways have limitation if trams are not integrated with and able to run on higher speed, heavy rail options, too. The whole of West Yorkshire needs a tram-trains network, along with increases in line and platform capacity. Essentially, we need a tram network complemented by elements of a metro-system, providing high-speed ‘arteries’ to lower journey times.”

“Even if such a network were constructed, it should be as well as other projects, not instead of them. London will be served by Crossrail and HS2; London never has to choose, while Yorkshire has no choice.”

Dr Buxton, who lives in Rawdon, stressed: “Without powerful devolution, Yorkshire will continue to be failed. With powerful devolution, Yorkshire would succeed and grow."