Sunak is absolutely right to say that enough is enough with HS2

Enough is enough with HS2, says Esther McVey (Image: PA) After his announcement on net zero, I am delighted that the next instalment of the Prime Minister’s common-sense crusade is to consider scrapping HS2 north of Birmingham. Labour Peer Lord Berkeley has estimated that the cost of HS2 is already likely to reach £180bn – from an initial budget of £37bn. Are the people who say the Government should plough on really saying that it has to be built no matter what the final bill is? Do they buy things they want irrespective of the cost? If so, I have a house to sell to them. HS2 isn’t even needed. The one bit of transport infrastructure that works is going between the North and London. What we need is better connectivity linking up our great northern cities. That is what will power the northern economy, not building a railway line which will just extend the commuter radius for London, and which will actually see places like Wilmslow in my constituency lose direct service to London. Sunak may scrap HS2 (Image: PA) Business train travel remains below pre-pandemic levels as people meet online rather than travel. Spending the HS2 money on a bells-and-whistles Northern Powerhouse rail system and on much better high-speed broadband coverage would deliver far more for the North. But some have been so brainwashed that HS2 has become like a religious cult. If you listen to Andy Burnham, you might think that HS2 was more important than the NHS. When HS2 was first proposed by the last Labour government of which he was a prominent member, it wasn’t even designed to help the northern economy. The original purpose of HS2 was to help people in the North get to Heathrow Airport without the need for short-haul flights, and therefore without having to extend Heathrow Airport. Yet those who support HS2 claim it is vital to boost the economy of cities such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds. At £180bn, that is £45bn for each of those cities. If you were to offer £45bn to each, what are the chances of all four saying ‘we have everything we need, so we’ll pool our share with the others for a new train line to London’? So the Prime Minister is absolutely right to say that enough is enough with HS2. Land already purchased can be resold or used for much needed housing. The money saved can be used to give the North the infrastructure we really need. And Rishi Sunak can enhance his reputation as a common sense Prime Minister prepared to make bold but necessary decisions, and show up his opponents as the real political extremists.