Despite widespread reports stating that the Government has scrapped the northern leg of HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has refused to confirm this and said he will not be “forced into a premature decision” on the future of HS2.
Sunak has stated that an “enormous amount” of money was being spent on the high speed train line and it was important to make the right long-term decision.
The HS2 route
Criticism over the possible scrapping of the HS2 high-speed rail link between Birmingham and Manchester has been increasing as the Government’s refusal to guarantee the link will continue between the Midlands and North West has cast doubt over the Conservative’s commitment to the levelling up agenda.
HS2 is intended to link London, the Midlands and the north of England through a new zero carbon, high-speed railway. HS2 has become the UK’s flagship transport levelling up project and it is the biggest rail investment ever made in the North of England, as well as Europe’s largest infrastructure project.
The HS2 scheme as a whole has already faced delays, cost increases and cuts. This includes the planned eastern leg between Birmingham and Leeds. The last official estimate on HS2 costs, excluding the cancelled eastern section, added up to about £71bn. However, this was in 2019 so this price does not account for the spike in costs for materials and wages in recent months.
A June statement to Parliament included figures for how much had been spent on HS2 so far and said £22.5bn had been spent on the London to Birmingham leg while £2.3bn had been spent on preparing other sections, on measures such as buying up land. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said last week that costs were getting “totally out of control”.
Doubts about the rail leg has grown significantly recently as the Government has refused to guarantee that the line will continue between the Midlands and North West. The speculation over HS2 has seen criticism from George Osborne, Lord Heseltine and Andy Burnham. Moreover, West Midlands Tory mayor Andy Street said axing the Manchester leg would amount to “cancelling the future” and risk damaging the UK’s international reputation “as a place to invest”.
Party conference
There is frustration from both supporters and opponents of HS2 that the issue has been allowed to overshadow the party conference, which could be the last before the next general election, due in 2024. However, Sunak has denied the issue had been a distraction from his party’s annual conference in Manchester and that the handling of any announcement had been poor, insisting “we’re having a great conference”.
Following speculation over HS2, there is now a growing expectation confirmation could finally come in the prime minister’s conference speech on Wednesday.
Final thought
The uncertainty around HS2 and the potential scrapping of the link between Birmingham and Manchester raises questions around the Government’s commitment to levelling up. Abandoning the plans could result in a deepening of the divide between the north and the south which contradicts heavily with the meaning behind levelling up.
With the Conservative Party conference being held in Manchester, the Government has inevitably come under further criticism.