Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said bus services are benefiting from the Government’s decision that saw the scrapping of the northern leg of HS2, as he visited a depot in Harrogate.

Mr Sunak was speaking as he was shown around the latest electric buses this morning (Monday, February 12), before speaking to apprentice bus drivers and engineers.

He said during the visit: “Every penny from HS2 in the North, almost £20 billion, is going to stay in the North.

“We’re here at a bus depot, which is benefiting from the £2 bus fare that we were able to put in place as a result of the reprioritisation.

“Local road schemes across the North, railway stations being reopened – those are the types of the projects I think people want us to invest in alongside road maintenance, and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

Mr Sunak said the £2 bus fare cap was a direct result of his decision on HS2.

He said: “Talking to the team here, as a result of that policy, they’ve seen a 15 per cent increase in bus numbers in this area – I’m here in Harrogate, in North Yorkshire.

“That demonstrates that policy is working and the plans we’ve put in place are the right ones.”