The prime minister has pledged billions for transport projects across the country after scrapping the northern leg of the HS2 high speed rail link.

Rishi Sunak said in a speech at the Conservative party conference that £36bn would be spent on alternative rail, road and bus schemes instead.

It came after he confirmed that the Birmingham-Manchester leg of HS2 would be ditched after weeks of speculation.

He said the decision was due to huge costs and long delays.

But it has led to accusations the government is abandoning its mission to "level up" different areas of the UK outside London.

In his speech, Mr Sunak said the government "will reinvest every single penny" saved from cancelling the remainder of HS2, which he said totals £36bn.

"Every region outside of London will receive the same or more government investment than they would have done under HS2, with quicker results," he said, although it is not clear when this money will be made available.

The high speed rail project was intended to link London, the Midlands and the north of England.

But in his speech on Wednesday, the prime minister said that east-west links were "far more important" than those linking up the north and the south of England.

He said that his plans would see "hundreds" of alternative projects funded, such as:

- Building the Midlands rail hub, connecting 50 stations

- Upgrading the A1, the A2, the A5 and the M6

- Building a Leeds tram system

- Funding the Shipley bypass, the Blyth relief road and 70 other road schemes

- Electrifying train lines in north Wales

- Resurfacing roads across the country

- Extending the £2 bus fare until the end of December 2024, which was due to rise to £2.50

He also said that he would protect £12bn to "better connect" Manchester and Liverpool - although this won't necessarily be with high speed rail.

The prime minister said on Wednesday it would be possible to get from Manchester to Hull in 84 minutes on a fully-electrified line under the new plans, known as "Network North". But it is not yet clear what the next few years will hold for the Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) project, which aims to improve connections between Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool.

A newly-published government document says that it will now be down to local leaders to decide how to use the money.

NPR was originally designed to intersect with HS2, using a section of the high speed line for a complicated section through central Manchester.

But Mr Sunak said that changes to travel seen since the coronavirus pandemic meant that the economic case for HS2 "has been massively weakened".

The first part of HS2 between west London and Birmingham, which is already being built, will be completed given how far along that section is.