Tories face frosty reception in Manchester as future of HS2 in doubt

Any rollback of' levelling up commitments in north could anger red wall' voters who swung to Conservatives

As Tories flock to Manchester for their annual conference, they are looking at an even frostier welcome than usual in the northern city.

Once, Manchester was at the heart of George Osborne's promised northern powerhouse" project and the end destination of the HS2 rail line. Northern voters continued to be wooed by Boris Johnson with a promise of levelling up as he sought to retain the so-called red wall" seats he won from Labour in 2019.