Government can’t argue HS2 is right for Birmingham but not the North

Hs2 has become an issue almost as divisive as Brexit. For its supporters, the arrival of high-speed rail in the North will vastly enhance our creaking transport network, increase capacity to reduce the all-too-common problem of congested trains and bring about major economic benefits lasting generations.

But detractors argue that the costs of the project are far too great - to affected communities and wildlife the line will cut through, as well as to the national purse.

Their case has undoubtedly been strengthened by the leak of a Government-commissioned review which has suggested the ultimate cost of the project could reach £106bn - more than three times the original projection of £30bn in 2010 and over twice the £56bn allocated in 2015.

However, the leaked review has reportedly concluded that “on balance” work on HS2 should continue and be serving Yorkshire by 2040.

The construction site for the HS2 high speed rail scheme in Euston, London in August 2019. Picture: Victoria Jones/PA Wire

Both business and political leaders in the North agree the work should go ahead - as the CBI put it “the costs of not building HS2 are far higher in communities that have been left behind”.

A decision to scrap the Yorkshire leg of the link while moving ahead with the London-Birmingham connection, which is being increasingly floated as a possibility, would send a dire message about the Government’s supposed commitment to helping the North of England and powering up the economy.

It would be a notorious decision remembered for decades to come.

If the Government truly believes that HS2 would benefit London and the Midlands, it cannot argue in the same breath that the North should miss out.

Government can’t argue HS2 is right for Birmingham but not the North - The Yorkshire Post says