Commenting ahead of George Osborne’s speech in Yorkshire on HS2 today, Liberal Democrat General Election Campaign Spokesman Lord Scriven, a former leader of Sheffield City Council, said:

“There’s only one party you can trust to make sure HS2 comes to our great Northern cities and that’s the Liberal Democrats.

“Ed Balls is not the only one who talks about cancelling the project – Tories are lining up to demand it is scrapped, including many of George Osborne’s ministerial colleagues.

“By contrast, Liberal Democrats led calls for high speed rail lines to the North from the very start, have backed it this parliament and will continue to do so in the future.

“As a proud resident of Sheffield I know how much difference a high speed line will make to my city and many others. It should not be put under threat by Labour and the Tories.”

As a Manchester councillor I was proud to support HS2 coming to Manchester. With a stop at Manchester Airport this is set to bring jobs and investment to Wythenshawe.