Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

SNP says “HS3” plan keeps Scotland in slow lane

George Osborne is floating the idea about whether to build a new high speed rail connection east-west from Manchester to Leeds
George Osborne is floating the idea about whether to build a new high speed rail connection east-west from Manchester to Leeds

The SNP has claimed that new plans to build a high speed rail link between northern English cities will keep Scotland in the “slow lane”.

The claims were made in response to Chancellor George Osborne’s call for a new line from Manchester to Leeds, dubbed “HS3”.

The Conservative minister said he wants travelling through towns and cities in the northern belt of England to be as easy as moving around a major global metropolis – to help them “take on the world”.

Under current plans, the £50billion HS2 high-speed rail project will link London to Birmingham in its first stage, before creating a Y-shaped network with lines to Manchester and Leeds by 2032/33.

A third phase involving lines over the border to Glasgow and Edinburgh has also been suggested, but no timetable has been confirmed for the plans.

In a speech in Manchester, Mr Osborne said: “We need an ambitious plan to make the cities and towns here in this northern belt radically more connected from east to west – to create the equivalent of travelling around a single global city.

“As well as fixing the roads, that means considering a new high speed rail link.

“Today I want us to start thinking about whether to build a new high-speed rail connection east-west from Manchester to Leeds.”

SNP MSP Gordon MacDonald, member of the Scottish Parliament’s infrastructure and investment committee, criticised Mr Osborne for not mentioning Scotland.

“Scotland needs better than this – it is ridiculous that Westminster is extending the High Speed Rail network but without any consideration for Scotland,” he said.

“What has become clear is that with a No vote the Tory-led Westminster system will keep Scotland in the slow lane.

“There is an undeniable economic case to connect Scotland to the rest of the UK and the continent.”