Shadow transport secretary said line should not be only 鈥榓 rich man鈥檚 toy鈥�

Shadow transport secretary Maria Eagle has called for the proposed high speed rail line from London to Birmingahm to be extended to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Eagle used her keynote speech at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to criticise the coalition鈥檚 decision to concentrate just on building the line to Birmingham, which she said 鈥渃asts real doubt鈥� on its long-term commitment to delivering high-speed rail in the north of the UK.

Eagle said: 鈥淭his Tory-led government鈥� should think again and ensure the whole route is included in forthcoming legislation.鈥�

However, Eagle stopped short of guaranteeing funding for the scheme. She also called on the coalition to ensure the line was not only affordable for the rich. 鈥淧hilip Hammond may think it is a rich man鈥檚 toy, but I don鈥檛. And a future Labour government never will.鈥�

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