article_snippet: Labour will press ahead with plans to build a new line between London and Birmingham, with work due to begin in 2017.
article_snippet: But it will reconsider the second phase of the project, which extends the line from Birmingham to Leeds and Manchester and was due to begin construction in the mid 2020s.
article_snippet: Chancellor George Osborne said services would connect the north east and north west, but also suggested a line could also link Birmingham and Nottingham. '
article_snippet: There is actually a big economic need to link East-West, and I'm thinking about Nottingham, Birmingham, Newcastle as being part of that east-west network as well. '
article_snippet: So do you build an old-fashioned Victorian line or do you build a high speed line, and our decision was to go with the modern technology and build a high speed line. '
article_snippet: But the very worrying news today is that Labour are calling into question the links between Birmingham and Manchester and Birmingham and Leeds, and this would be an immense slap in the face from Labour to the West Midlands, the East Midlands and the North of the country