Minister praises Yorkshire Post over fight for high-speed rail link

The Government is attempting to win support for its plans to build a 225mph network, first from London to Birmingham and then splitting, with one line to Yorkshire and a second heading west towards Manchester.

Mr Hammond congratulated the Yorkshire Post for galavanising regionwide backing for the £32bn HS2 project, culminating yesterday in an open letter signed by 90 leaders in business, politics and education.

He said, however, the argument must continue to be pushed or it will be drowned out by the “small but loud minority” of protesters along the first stage of the line that cuts through the Chilterns.

Addressing a meeting of business leaders in Leeds yesterday, Mr Hammond said: “It is quite an achievement for the Yorkshire Post to galvanise support in this way. We have seen that Yorkshire has come together to get behind the case for HS2 in a way that is very impressive.

“From some of those living on the route between London and Birmingham we have seen a great deal of hostility to the project but this is about taking the debate to the country as a whole – if we are not careful the debate will be dominated by a tiny number of people.

“Let’s be clear this is not a done deal – the great danger would be the apathy of the majority who stand to benefit and the business community need to continue to articulate this argument as the Yorkshire Post has done so brilliantly this morning.”

The plans would see journey times from Leeds to London cut to 80 minutes by 2033 with another stop in South Yorkshire. It would also halve the time between Sheffield and Leeds to around 20 minutes, and cut the journey to Birmingham from Leeds to just over one hour.

Mr Hammond said the route is vital for the North-South divide to be narrowed and he also sought to allay fears the existing transport infrastructure could be neglected by the concentration on high-speed rail.

“This is not just about business and political leaders of today, it is inter-generational, if there are people who are unemployed and struggling to find work they have to get behind it and think my children will have greater opportunities in the future,” he said. “We have to address the economic divide between growth in the Midlands and the North, and growth in London and the South-East. There is no other developed economy – except possibly Italy, that has such a stark division.

“We will not take our eye off the ball for funding the current transport system – we have a strategic infrastructure investment programme, as well the regional investment for our existing railways and roads.

“Since the end of World War Two governments of all persuasions have looked at strategic opportunities – then turned their backs and walked away. This time, let us look to the future - we can see the prizes on offer, we are determined this time to seize them.”

Ian Williams, director of policy at Leeds, York and North Yorkshire Chamber, said: “It is crucially important that business and their employees get behind high speed rail and show the Government that Yorkshire supports the investment. The Chamber fully echoes the ministers view that Yorkshire and the UK cannot afford to miss out on this vital infrastructure.”