How is it that Rishi Sunak has the power, more or less single-handedly, to cancel the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2 (Leader, 6 October), a decision taken in parliament? Surely this suggestion should be discussed by MPs? The cancellation is a major U-turn in the last moments of a dying Tory government that will affect the UK for decades to come. It is a desperate act.
At the very least, freezing the sale of land purchased for HS2 should be seriously considered. One of the aims of HS2 is to get freight off the roads and free up other, overcrowded, somewhat dilapidated railway lines going to the north. People do like to travel faster, hence the use of air across the UK. Environmentally alone, HS2 makes sense. Europe is building high-speed lines all over the continent and discouraging air traffic, as are countries such as India. Far from a decision for a brighter future, this feels like going backwards.
Rosanne Bostock, Oxford
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