Anti-HS2 crusader Keir Starmer may have to face down his Shadow Cabinet as an unearthed video does the rounds of him unreservedly blasting the project “on cost and merit”, and categorically stating that “the only sensible plan is to abandon the project altogether”. Starmer has a long history of campaigning against the project with fellow Camden MP Tulip Siddiq… and crucially voted against it in 2016. Any new expression of support for HS2 from Starmer will be entirely confected and opportunistic.

Long before Sir Keir was elevated to the leadership, Wes Streeting implicitly took a pop at his now-dear leader by describing his anti-HS2 campaign as “great for posh Londoners but crap for working class northerners”. Most of the Shadow Cabinet are on the record as strongly in favour of HS2, including John Healey, Jonathan Reynolds, Nick Thomas-Symonds, Jonathan Ashworth, Bridget Phillipson, Louise Haigh, Lucy Powell, and Steve Reed. Admittedly Shabana Mahmood has backed Andy Burnham’s claim that it is “essential to regeneration, jobs and growth”. Starmer is deliberately keeping a low profile during this row…