WATCH: Transport Secretary – “We will make a go, no go decision by the end of the year”

Shapps sets a tight deadline for his independent review into High Speed Two.

WATCH: Burnham promises ‘almighty fight’ if Johnson tries to scrap HS2

The Mayor of Greater Manchester is responding to the Prime Minister’s new commission, which aims to independently re-assess the value of the project.

WATCH: ‘Anything is possible’ – Shapps on whether High Speed Two could be abandoned

The Transport Secretary this week ordered an independent commission to assess the railway’s costs and benefits.

Johnson won’t scrap HS2, but his review could make a big offer to the North

Building the northern sections first could provide a springboard for further projects and combat the idea that the former Mayor of London is too capital-focused.

Iain Dale: Were the Prime Minister to pull the plug on HS2, would he call time on Heathrow expansion too?

Plus: I* which I ru* i*to a few a**oyi*g problems fili*g this colum* from my *orfolk retreat.

Andy Street: Making connections to change our region

The West Midlands provides a case study for the UK in how connectivity can transform an area by linking its communities, its geography, its businesses and its people.

Andy Street: What the West Midlands wants from the new Government

A new era of optimism in Downing Street can bring positive changes for my area.

Andrew Bridgen: HS2 must be cancelled before it does taxpayers – and the Government – any more harm

Over budget and out of control, allowing it to continue simply stores up more trouble and scandal for the future.

Chloe Westley: Public sector pay – and why centralised bargaining must end

On the whole, pay rises should go to those on the frontline, or be used for recruitment and retention, or be based on performance.

Johnson’s bandwagon rolls on, Davidson declares for the Home Secretary – and Gove deploys weapons of mass distraction

Also: don’t cut members out of the contest. And the right exam question for candidates is: who can best win a general election?

Bob Seely: Saving Britain billions. Ideas for the contenders in this leadership contest.

This is a contribution to the debate – now let’s see what the candidates offer during the week ahead.

Andy Street: My seven tests to find the right Prime Minister for the West Midlands

They are chosen not from a factional or ideological standpoint, but from what I see while doing the job of Mayor.

Victoria Prentis: Why I am voting for Stewart

It’s increasingly clear that he is the candidate who can win back the voters we need to win the next general election.

John O’Connell: There are so many better ways of spending £50 billion than on HS2. Here are some of them.

The alternatives we publish today range from airfields to supertrams, roads to rail, bicycles to bridges.

Chloe Westley: It’s the end of the line for HS2, or should be

The majority of Brits drive to work in a car or a van, but journalists and politicians get the train to work. I think that’s reflected in political discourse.