Star comment: Sunak on the wrong track over HS2
There’s a common thread linking the key announcements that Rishi Sunak has made in the past week or so.
In watering down the green agenda and in appearing to call into question the future of HS2, he is making a clear and clean break with the premiership of Boris Johnson. The man who made Mr Sunak Chancellor of the Exchequer was a key advocate of green issues and also delivered the go-ahead for HS2.
Mr Sunak, in contrast, has seen the political capital to be gained from ditching both – the Conservatives secured Mr Johnson’s former Uxbridge constituency in a by-election dominated by anti-green sentiment. He would also rather spend the money targeted towards HS2 on other, vote-winning promises.
There’s a second theme, however, which the Prime Minister will find less palatable, which is this. While some voters endorse his policies, it seems many do not.
