- Written by Laura Jones
- BBC News business reporter
Grant Shapps says Britain needs to consider ‘balance’ in how it spends money
A former transport secretary has said it would be “insane” not to review plans for the HS2 rail link amid rising costs.
Grant Shapps told the BBC that the war in Ukraine and soaring inflation meant every government needed to make “serious decisions” about affordability.
The BBC understands that a final decision on HS2 could be taken as soon as this week.
The government has so far refused to commit to the current plan.
HS2 aims to link London, the Midlands and the North of England, with the first part, between West London and Birmingham, currently under construction.
But the scheme as a whole, including the planned eastern section between Birmingham and Leeds, is already facing delays, cost increases and cuts.
The latest official estimates for the cost of HS2, excluding the canceled eastern section, totaled around £71bn.
This is a 2019 price, so it does not take into account things like material and wage increases in recent months.
Speaking to Victoria Derbyshire on the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg programme, Mr Shapps said that no decisions have been made at this time about the future of the project.
“We have to meet the budget,” he said.
“We are hit not only by the coronavirus, but also by the war in Ukraine…Responsible governments must ask whether their order is still in line with what the country demands.”
He added that when the earlier promises were made, “no one expected there to be a war in Europe now, with all its consequences, with all its costs, with all its inflation.” It’s funny to go back and look at it. ”
The Prime Minister and Chancellor have been discussing the future of the Birmingham to Manchester project against a backdrop of rising prices.
Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said last week that costs were becoming “completely out of control”.
Many Westminster residents are concerned that almost all of the proposed route from Birmingham to Manchester is likely to be scrapped ahead of the Tory Party conference in the city on October 1. I think there is.
But former Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned against “ruining” the project in a letter to Rishi Sunak.
It was under Johnson’s government that HS2 was given permission to start construction in 2020.
Cabinet minister Grant Shapps said on Sunday it would be “irresponsible” to keep pumping in money because of rising costs and delays.
He said there were “completely legitimate questions” about the “sequencing” of high-speed rail.
Mr Shapps also suggested HS2 was not the “be-all and end-all” for rail connectivity, saying the government had spent £22bn on transport in the north of England since 2010.
However, he did not comment on whether separate plans for the Northern Powerhouse rail scheme between Leeds, Manchester and Liverpool would still go ahead if the northern section of HS2 were scrapped.
Despite pressure from local mayors such as Andy Burnham, Labor has so far refused to confirm it would fund the HS2 line to Manchester if the Conservatives abolish it.
On Sunday, Darren Jones, the new shadow chief secretary at the Treasury, said Labor was “enthusiastic to build HS2” but said the government had provided little “relevant” information. He said he did not.
“We are only responding to leaks from the Conservatives,” he said, adding that the Conservatives could not commit to tens of billions of pounds worth of infrastructure without looking at all the numbers.
On Saturday, more than 80 companies and business leaders also called for clarity on the approach to HS2.
The heads of dozens of companies and business groups, including Manchester Airports Group, British Land, Virgin Money and Northern Powerhouse, have all said repeated mixed signals have damaged Britain’s reputation and the wider supply chain.
In the letter, they expressed “deep concern” over the “constant uncertainty” that “plagues” the project.
HS2 aims to create more capacity and reduce journey times.
The government has long claimed there will be economic benefits, but critics believe the cost is too high and the money could be better spent in other ways.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said in March that the Birmingham to Crewe section would be delayed for two years. Work on Euston has also been paused while it works on an “affordable” design.
But a government spokesperson said on Friday that the government “remains focused on delivering” HS2.