HS2: Government told to take responsibility for ‘scandalous’ mismanagement and stop ‘chopping and changing’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under pressure to abandon Europe’s largest infrastructure project due to concerns about the cost, which is expected to reach £71bn even if services never reach Leeds.

After a series of costly delays, reviews and design changes, the high-speed rail project was given an “unachievable” rating by the official infrastructure watchdog last week.

A “red” rating was assigned to the plans by the Infrastructure and Projects Authority (IPA) for the construction of the first two phases of the line, which are designed to link London, Birmingham and Crewe,

Its report stated there are “major issues” which “do not appear to be manageable or resolvable”.

It comes after Mark Thurston announced he was quitting as chief executive of HS2 Ltd amid widespread concerns about the delays and soaring costs.

But Henri Murison, chief executive of Northern Powerhouse Partnership think tank, said the red rating is a “direct result” of “short-term political calculations”.

He said the Government currently treats capital investment in infrastructure “as if it's the same as welfare benefits” so it has been delaying HS2 and cutting its budget to save money in certain financial years, even though that approach “will cost more in the long run”.

Mr Murison said: “The government keeps reviewing it, which means it takes longer and then they keep cancelling sections, which means they need to redesign things.

“By the time that we've done all this chopping and changing we'll end up spending more than we would have spent if we had just built the original plan. It's absolutely scandalous.”

Earlier this year, Transport Secretary Mark Harper admitted that delaying HS2 “doesn’t save money”, but said the Government has to “live within” an annual budget.

He had announced in March that work on Phase 2a, linking Birmingham and Crewe, would be delayed by two years to spread out spending after inflation caused costs to rise. Leaked documents suggest it will cost the taxpayer an extra £366m. Mr Harper also paused work on the HS2 station in Euston for two years, so it could reduce spending over that period and produce new designs.

The station is now expected to open in 2041, instead of 2026. The predicted cost has ballooned from £2.6bn to £4.8bn. The National Audit Office also found around £105m had been wasted on old designs.

A Department for Transport spokeswoman said: “Spades are already in the ground on HS2, with 350 construction sites, over £20bn invested to date and supporting over 28,500 jobs. We remain committed to delivering HS2 in the most cost-effective way.”

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