As the Liberal Democrats attempt to seize the political agenda at their annual conference in Bournemouth, Rishi Sunak is facing a series of decisions on how far to go with his policy shake-up. Last week, he diluted a number of the UK’s net zero commitments – including delaying the ban on petrol cars by five years. Now, other policy changes are planned as the Prime Minister attempts to pitch himself as the minister for hard truths, a politician who will do things differently by being up front about trade-offs.

The snag is that such changes have the potential to be divisive with Sunak’s own side. First up, the HS2 Birmingham-Manchester line. Ministers are considering scrapping the HS2 rail link to Manchester as a result of the soaring costs. The last official estimate on HS2 costs added up to about £71 billion but just last week Jeremy Hunt suggested the costs were getting ‘totally out of control’. The Sunday Telegraph reports that the cost of the rail scheme has increased by another £8 billion.

It means that this is a decision that could fit with Sunak’s theme of hard truths. However, he is facing a pre-emptive backlash as Tory MPs worry a decision could be made as soon as this week. George Osborne has said cancelling the extension would be an ‘act of huge economic self-harm’ while the Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has said it risks creating a ‘north-south chasm’. Making a decision to scrap it days before the Tories head to Manchester for their annual party conference would be an interesting move.

There are also some tricky decisions that remain a bridge too far for the Prime Minister. While ministers consider changes to savings schemes and inheritance tax reform, the pensions triple lock is likely to be in the next Tory manifesto – as I first reported in this week’s magazine. The Conservative party response to the decisions Sunak is mulling next point to how hard his new strategy will be to execute – even if voters take to it.