Northern Powerhouse Partnership demands party leaders back HS2 as report is leaked
Northern Powerhouse leaders today called on all political parties to back the HS2 rail project after the Government’s report was leaked to The Times.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson had sought to defer releasing former HS2 chairman Douglas Oakervee’s independent review of the scheme until after the General Election. It was scheduled to be released last month.
But The Times today published details from the review which calls on the Government to press ahead with the project, in spite of soaring costs.
According to The Times, the Oakervee report says HS2 – which will connect London with Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds – is not affordable within its current £56bn budget, and costs will likely have to rise to £88bn, and possibly higher.
Mr Oakervee also concludes that the economic benefit to the taxpayer from HS2 has fallen dramatically from £2.30 for every £1 spent, in 2017, to £1.30 now.
£9bn has already been spent on HS2, and the report estimates it will cost between £2.5bn to £3.6bn to cancel it.
Proposed completion dates have also been drastically extended. Phase one, from London to Birmingham was due to open in 2026, but will now open in 2031. Phase two, from Birmingham to Crewe should have been ready by 2027 but will be delayed to 2031, while the third phase to Leeds, Manchester and Wigan has been delayed from a 2033 opening to 2040.
But Mr Oakervee concludes that HS2, nevertheless, should proceed.
He argues that without the high-speed rail link “large ticket prices” would be needed to put people off travelling at peak times on the current rail network.
And he also states that HS2 would bring enormous benefits to the North, with improved connectivity resulting in journeys between Leeds and Birmingham being halved, while trips between Newcastle and Birmingham would be reduced by around an hour.
Henry Murison, director of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership said: “The Northern Powerhouse Independent Review on HS2 said that there were no identified credible alternatives to HS2 in order to deliver the same capacity, and that it has the potential to unlock greater growth in North and Midlands.
“It is welcome that their recommendations are mirrored by the Government’s own Oakervee Review.”
He added: “As we await the three major party manifestos, the case has been made for building Northern Powerhouse Rail and HS2 together all the way has never been stronger.
“Now Oakervee recommendations are being debated in public, the time for being equivocal on this issue has run out.
“Conservative, Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates in the North are committing to back the ‘Connecting Britain’ campaign of business and civic leaders.
“All their leaders must unequivocally do the same.”
