When Dishi canned that great white elephant-and -consultants gravy train called HS2, he said don't worry the dosh he's saving will still go to the North.

He'll spend it on fixing up all those decrepit branch lines and the wobbly carriages that look like rejects from Albanian Railways so one half of the North can link up with the other half. It's called levelling up or someat 'cos the view is that so far, all the taxpayers' cash has gone South, like to the fancy new Elizabeth Line.