North West business leaders in open revolt over HS2

Business leaders from Greater Manchester and the surrounding area have written to the Prime Minister urging him not to cancel HS2.

Media were briefed yesterday that the high-speed track will be extended from Old Oak Common in west London to Euston, but cancelled North of Birmingham.

Rishi Sunak is expected to announce £30bn of spending on road, rail and buses, as the government looks to cut back on its commitment to HS2.

The line from Birmingham to Manchester is set to be pulled and instead, HS2 will go from Euston to Manchester, but at Birmingham will switch onto existing West Coast Mainline tracks.

Announcements by the Prime Minister are expected to be rolled out during his speech at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester today (4 October 2023), which has been dominated by HS2 talk.

Shifting trains to the existing West Coast Mainline track to Manchester appears to make a mockery of arguments that HS2 was about improving capacity on the main rail link from the North West.

Yesterday, with just two hours notice Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt cancelled his attendance at a business reception with the Northern Powerhouse Partnership at the offices of EY in Manchester. It is understood it was to attend an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the details of Sunak’s speech later today.

But business leaders from than 30 companies and business organisations have called on government to commit to building HS2 in full, describing the project as “fundamental to the economic future of the whole of the country”.

Large and small businesses, from a diverse range of sectors, have signed up to the letter (below).

Dear Prime Minister,

In deciding on the future of HS2 you hold the future prosperity of the North and Midlands in your hands.  As businesses with a deep interest in the long-term future of Manchester and the UK as a whole we urge you not to cancel HS2.  It would be a major act of economic self-sabotage and damage our international standing as a place to do business.  We recognise the challenge of controlling costs, and like others from business organisations across the country stand ready to work with you to address this issue.  But we also firmly believe that this should not prevent us from making investments that are fundamental to the economic future of the whole of the country for future generations. This should not be seen as a choice between improved north-south connections and improved east-west connections.

HS2 should not be seen as a standalone infrastructure project.  It will unlock prosperity and growth across the cities in the North and Midlands. We know that this is what infrastructure investment does – it provides the scaffolding on which businesses invest, create jobs and generate opportunities for our communities. The strategic case for HS2 has always been centred on the opportunity for economic growth, regeneration and development beyond the impact of direct expenditure.

Creating additional capacity on the major rail arteries in and out of London is essential if we are to keep the economy moving.  Connections to London as a major global capital is essential for many of our businesses and for London the ability to access markets in the north and midlands is just as important.  Despite the blip of the pandemic demand for travel continues to grow.  We know there is no room for more rail freight and within a few years there will be no more passenger capacity with more delays, higher costs and less reliability becoming inevitable consequences of lack of investment.  This will damage investor confidence and the prospects of the towns and cities of the north and midlands.

This is not all about cities, or even the UK economy as a whole. You have said that you want to see better opportunities and investment in towns.  We are clear that creating greater capacity on the rail network will help these towns – freeing up commuter routes and creating more jobs, wealth and reasons for young people to stay and help build the northern economy.

We have been overwhelmed to see not just the level of business support up and down the country for HS2 as part of a network of investment in our infrastructure but also the level of public support in the recent weeks.  People know costs need to be controlled, and there is the need for tight scrutiny of the programme, but we also all recognise the need to build for the future success of our towns, cities and communities. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity which we cannot afford to throw away. Scrapping this scale of infrastructure investment would risk our standing as a globally competitive UK in the future, and adversely impact our communities for decades to come.

Yours sincerely,

Bruntwood

KraftHeinz

AO Arena

Oak View Group – Co-op Live

Manchester United Football Club

Aecom

Manchester Airports Group (MAG)

Relentless Group

Arup

The University of Manchester

Co-operatives UK

Manchester Life

City Strategy

Music Magpie

Nexperia

HOME

DWF

U+I

Scarborough Group

Savills

OBI

PTG Holroyd

Arcadis

Benchmark Security

Bobst

NGK Berylco

HB Fuller Manufcturing

PTG Labs

Insync Bikes / Hero Cycles

Kratos Analytical

HF Mixing Group

The Con Club

Crewe Alexandra Football Club

Alstom

Influential Products HK

P&D Northern Steels / P&D Northern Group

Totally Charged EV

Panda Cloud EV

Edina UK

Wallwork Heat Treatment

Greater Manchester Business Board

Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce

Pro-Manchester

FSB Manchester

North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT)

NP11

Crewe Town Board