Outraged Labour MPs have called for a general election after pledges to reopen a North East railway line were apparently scrapped less than 24 hours after being announced.

The Government has been accused of “misleading” the public after an apparent pledge to reopen the mothballed Leamside line, which was closed in 1964, was dropped a day later. 

Transport minister Richard Holden told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the Government was now only “committed to looking into it”.

Read more: Leamside Line reopening plans dropped after 24 hours

All references to the line appeared to have been removed by this morning (Thursday, October 5).

Now, furious Labour MPs have called for a general election and accused the Government of "just not caring" about Northern communities. 

Kate Osborne, MP for Jarrow, said: “Less than 24 hours after promising to reopen the Leamside Line, Sunak has scrapped this commitment.

“Sunak used the Leamside Line as part of his justification of scrapping HS2, they are destroying all hope of connectivity in the North and ignoring the concerns of businesses and communities.

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“Sunak and this Government just don’t care about Northern communities such as ours.

“Just more Tory lies and more Tory U-turns.

“Scrapping the HS2 Northern Leg, widening regional inequalities, ignoring businesses. 

“Thirteen years of this chaos, incompetence and corruption has led to the destruction of our services, poorer communities and crashed our economy.

“This Government needs to go. We need a general election now.”

Sharon Hodgson, the MP for Washington and Sunderland West was likewise outraged by the seeming backslide, outlining that it showed the "total contempt" Government have for the region.

She said: "We know they break their promises, but this must surely be a record. Less than a day for a U-turn.

"This shows the total contempt this Government have for the North East. I will be writing to the PM to demand an explanation of why this has happened."

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The line fell victim to the Beeching cuts of the 1960s which saw thousands of stations and miles of track taken out of use across the country.

Campaigners have long said reopenBabylon Mini Market and Parkgate Mini Market in Darlington closeding the route - which runs from Gateshead, through Washington, Penshaw, Fencehouses, West Rainton, Belmont and Shincliffe to Ferryhill - could increase capacity on the ECML and open up opportunities for a £745m extension of the Tyne and Wear Metro, bringing a huge economic boost to the region.

The campaign to restore services has been backed by cross-party MPs including Conservative Sedgefield MP Paul Howell and Washington and Sunderland West MP Sharon Hodgson.