Pendle MP sets out his vision for HS2 and rail in the north

The MP was speaking in Manchester where he described the controversial project as "a historic challenge...but also an unprecedented opportunity."

Mr Stephenson, who was the government's trasport whip between June 2017 and January 2018, and was briefly a minister in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said that he learned a lot about railways from those experiences.

He said: "It was a huge honour last week to be given responsibility for HS2 and for Northern Powerhouse Rail in this new government. The two biggest and most important rail projects for the north of England since the Victorian era.

"This is an historic challenge. But it is also an unprecedented opportunity. To reverse decades of underinvestment in our northern railways. To fire up the northern economy, just as the original railways did, and to create the capacity and the connections that I believe will redefine rail travel for northern passengers."

Mr Stephenson went on to say that the government must repay the faith voters in the north had given them by returning largely Conservative MPs, adding that "communities here feel left behind – disconnected from the growth and wealth they see elsewhere in the UK."

The MP added that the government's vision for the economy and modern industrial strategy would create good jobs and prosperous communities across the United Kingdom by creating the conditions firms need to grow.

"My job is to create those conditions for communities here in the north of England," he added.

"When transport provision is unreliable or overcrowded it acts like a drag on business and enterprise. Yet when we provide our towns and cities with ample, reliable transport, we can turn them into fertile magnets for growth and investment.

"Supporting a more diverse, more vibrant economy which makes the most of the incredible potential we have here in the north. Yes, the north has an incredible back story to tell, of the industrial revolution that led the world in the 19th century, but it’s what’s going on now and in the years ahead that really excite me."

Mr Stephenson went on to talk about how HS2, despite its critics, would benefit the north.

He said: "To really address overcrowding on the network, and provide the connections required to stimulate renewal across the north, we need to build new capacity.

New rail links north to south, and east to west. That’s why we’re going ahead with both HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail. These are not ‘either/or’ projects. They are both crucial to our future prosperity.

"HS2 is not simply a project that the north and Midlands benefit from. It is a project for these regions. Transforming journeys, iberating new capacity on the existing railway, connecting communities and unleashing their potential.

"The critics who say that HS2 will only benefit London are simply wrong. They ignore the voices in towns and cities across the north. They ignore the businesses and passengers who are crying out for investment and change.

"They ignore people in my own constituency of Pendle. I am proud to be a northern MP, tasked with ensuring these historic projects are delivered and run for the benefit of the people here."