Tory conference in Manchester: What we learnt, what we lost and what we gained

The Conservatives came to Manchester this week under a cloud of speculation that the high-speed railway line we were promised more than a decade ago would be scrapped. After weeks of denial, Rishi Sunak finally confirmed the Northern leg of HS2 will not be built in a speech at Manchester Central Convention Complex - a former railway station in the heart of the city - on Wednesday (October 4).

The previous night (October 3), Greater Manchester's politicians gathered outside Central Library - just metres away from the Tory party conference - in a last-ditch plea to the Prime Minister who was poised to scrap the multi-billion-pound project. It came after Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham appeared at conference events urging Mr Sunak to meet with him before pulling the plug.

The Labour mayor met with with levelling up secretary Michael Gove that afternoon, making his case for the second phase of HS2 not to be scrapped and setting out some priorities should the project be delayed. But none of these interventions were successful as Mr Sunak announced in his speech that the new line would be cancelled with the £36bn saved to be spent on other transport projects.

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In his hour-long conference speech - his first, and possibly his last, as Prime Minister - Mr Sunak also set out some new policies on education, smoking and vaping. This includes phasing out cigarette sales and forcing students to study maths and English until 18.

While the much-anticipated news about HS2 was not welcomed in Greater Manchester, some of the other announcements to come out of the conference were not