The government have announced that they are canceling projects which would have cost the public a total of £2 billion. Another £8.5 billion worth of projects have been suspended. The projects were agreed between 1st January 2010 and the election in May.
You can download the press release here.
These were spending commitments, made by the previous government: if the nation can’t afford these things, how can they afford to spend £17 billion on a railway which duplicates exiting routes between Euston and Birmingham?