He also suggested he wanted to focus on fixing potholes, saying they were “probably the number one priority that people brought up to me.”

He told Radio York: “When I talk to people when I’m at home or anywhere else, what they all tell me is that we need to make it easier to get around all of our northern towns and cities, whether it’s Hull, York, Leeds , Sheffield, to Liverpool.

“Connecting all those cities is really important and we are doing it.

“But also investing in the local transport that people use every day, making sure our potholes are filled, making sure our bus services are running, which is particularly important in rural areas like mine.”

Earlier this month, the Welsh Labor government implemented new 20mph speed limits on almost all previously 30mph roads.

Following backlash from drivers and politicians, a review of the policy was announced.

It also emerged that parking fines imposed by private companies had risen by more than a quarter in a year, despite earlier promises to crack down on the companies.

On Thursday, both Downing Street and the Department for Transport described the policies as “speculation”.

However, the plans would divert attention from the expected scrapping of the Birmingham to Manchester section of the HS2 rail line amid concerns about soaring costs.

On Thursday, Sunak also said it would not be a betrayal to scrap HS2 north of Birmingham, as he refused to confirm his plans for the project.

He said the Government was “investing record sums in transport infrastructure”.

A decision on scrapping HS2 north of Birmingham was expected this week but has apparently been delayed so as not to overshadow next week’s Conservative conference in Manchester.

On Wednesday, Lucy Frazer, the culture secretary, said Jeremy Hunt, the chancellor, was “considering” his future.