A BRADFORD MP says it will be the "nail in the coffin" of the Government's levelling up plans if a new Bradford station is not a part of the Northern Powerhouse Rail.
It comes after new Transport Secretary Mark Harper said a final decision hasn't been taken on the station.
Mr Harper was pressed on the Government’s commitment to High Speed 2 (HS2) amid warnings of difficult decisions on public spending.
He was asked in particular if the new administration was committed to the high-speed line from Manchester to Leeds, via Bradford.
“The Government remains committed to delivering HS2 on time and within budget,” Mr Harper said.
Bradford West MP Naz Shah (Lab) insists a new Bradford station must be part of the HS2 plans.
She said: "The transport select committee was clear, the test for levelling up was NPR with a Bradford station.
"If a Bradford station gets the chop, that’s a nail in the coffin for any hope in levelling up from this government."
Mr Harper added: “We’re going back to our 2019 manifesto, looking at the commitments we made. We have got a commitment to make sure we can get high-speed trains to Leeds.
“What we’re doing in my department, and what I’ve been briefed on, is we’re looking at all of the options that are available to do that,” he told Sky News.
“I will be looking at all of the options to do that in light of the decisions we take in the autumn statement.”
Rishi Sunak made clear when he came into the Number 10 job he was there to fix the previous prime minister's mistakes.
Liz Truss during her leadership campaign promised that Northern Powerhouse Rail services would stop at a new station in Bradford - a key demand of Northern MPs and council leaders.
At the time, Bradford Council Leader Susan Hinchcliffe said the Council would hold her to her promise, and added: “we won’t let up until spades are in the ground and NPR is delivered.”
The Northern Powerhouse Rail line has been in the planning stages for years and was one of Boris Johnson’s main proposals to “level up” the North.
These included assurances that there would be a stop in Bradford.
But last November the Government published its Integrated Rail Plan. Not only would there no longer be a stop in Bradford, but the plan called for much of the line to scrapped.
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