Boris Johnson finally declared HS2 will go ahead today – despite Tory fury over the spiralling £100billion cost.
The Prime Minister confirmed the move in a statement to the House of Commons after it was rubber-stamped at Cabinet this morning.
He said poor infrastructure had been ‘holding the country back’ for too long, and the government will act to shorten commutes and encourage investment.
He painted the controversial HS2 scheme – which has been in development for well over a decade – as part of his plan to ‘level up’ the UK, with a wider package of improvements spread wealth beyond London.
Mr Johnson said Britain could ‘try to get by with the existing routes from North to South’ but it was better to ‘have the guts to take a decision’.
‘None of this makes any sense without HS2,’ he told MPs. ‘If we start now services could be running by the end of the decade.’
He added: ‘Yes it is ambitious. But ambition is what we have lacked for far too long.’
However, the premier faced a rough ride from his own MPs, who are deeply divided over whether HS2 should happen.
Backbencher Andrew Bridgen warned that the scheme will become an ‘albatross’ around the neck of the government.
In a bid to sweeten the pill, Mr Johnson pledged to ‘interrogate’ the costs and a minister will be dedicated to overseeing the scheme.
He also suggested that Old Oak Common, one of the hub HS2 stations planned for near Willesden, could be named after Baroness Thatcher.
The Prime Minister confirmed the move in a statement to the House of Commons after it was rubber-stamped at Cabinet this morning
The HS2 route would initially link London and Birmingham with the second phase of the project then heading north to Manchester and Leeds
HS2 would allow trains to travel at speeds of up to 250mph. That would mean much faster journeys between key UK cities. The graphic shows times for HS2 passengers (in red) verses the current times (in blue)
Work could now begin almost immediately on Phase 1 between London and Birmingham, with a review of how to extend the route further north to Manchester and Leeds.
Mr Johnson stressed that the whole project will go ahead. But the decision to hold a further review of the northern section will raise eyebrows, given the PM’s election pledge to improve infrastructure to the North.
Sources have pointed out even Greater Manchester’s Labour mayor Andy Burnham is now urging ministers to prioritise a new line linking Liverpool to Manchester and Leeds ahead of the northern arm of HS2.
Supporters of the project say it can cut journey times from Birmingham to London from one hour 21 minutes to just 52 minutes.
The second phase should reduce Manchester-London trips to an hour and seven minutes.
Conservative MPs in seats along the route south of Birmingham are among those who are angry over HS2’s cost and impact on the environment.
Mr Bridgen said: ‘HS2 is unloved, unwanted and has been grossly mismanaged. It very adversely affects my constituents.
‘Does the Prime Minister appreciate my and my constituents’ concerns that this could well be an albatross around this government and the country’s neck moving forward and doesn’t it set the bar very low for the future delivery of infrastructure projects on time and on budget by all future governments?’
Mr Johnson replied: ‘Every great infrastructure project is opposed by the people at this stage. The M25… the Treasury was against the M25, I seem to remember delivering the Olympics and obviously Cross Rail, the Treasury tried to get rid of Cross Rail.
‘Every single infrastructure project is opposed at this critical moment.
‘We have got to have the guts, the foresight to drive it through.’
The Tory benches erupted into shouts of ‘No’ when Mr Johnson was asked if he agreed that HS2 should go ahead during Prime Minister’s Questions last month.
Mr Johnson’s most senior adviser, Dominic Cummings, is said to be in favour of scrapping the scheme.
But Chancellor Sajid Javid told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘We’re going to have an infrastructure revolution in this country – I’ve been very clear about that.
‘And whether it is HS2 or something else, we’ve always got to make sure that costs do not get out of control and those projects are delivered on time.
‘That’s why we’ve created that National Infrastructure Commission, it’s why we’ve got the Infrastructure Projects Authority, both independent bodies to oversee this. But whatever happens with HS2, we need to learn the lessons of that.’
HS2 Ltd – the Government-owned company responsible for developing and building the railway – says it will boost capacity and cut journey times.
High-speed trains will run beyond the new lines on existing tracks as far as Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Former HS2 Ltd chairman Douglas Oakervee was commissioned by the Government in August 2019 to lead a review into whether or not the programme should be scrapped amid rising costs and delays.
It has been widely leaked that the review found HS2 could cost up to £106billion, but concluded that ‘on balance’ it should continue.
HS2’s original budget was £32.7billion at 2011 prices.
It was due to open in December 2026, but HS2 Ltd chairman Allan Cook said last year it would be ‘prudent to plan for an opening between 2028 and 2031’.
Last month, Whitehall’s spending watchdog said the scheme is over budget and behind schedule because its complexity and risks were under-estimated.
The National Audit Office warned that it is impossible to ‘estimate with certainty’ what the final cost could be.
In a bid to head off criticism that the £100billion rail line will bring no benefit to many areas, Downing Street has unveiled plans for a major boost to bus services in every region of the country.
Sources said the £5billion investment would lead to more services, cheaper and simpler fares and greener vehicles. However, Mr Johnson will risk claims of a new war on the motorist with plans set to include hundreds of miles of roads being dug up to create segregated bus and cycle lanes.
Mr Johnson said poor infrastructure had been ‘holding the country back’ for too long, and the government will act to shorten commutes and encourage investment
Ministers seemed in high spirits as they emerged from the Cabinet meeting this morning
Matt Hancock and Grant Shapps were also at the Cabinet meeting, where the HS2 project is due to be given the green light
Esther McVey and Jake Berry were among the ministers at the Cabinet meeting today
He will also back proposals for dozens of ‘Mini-Holland’ schemes where vehicle use is restricted in towns and suburbs to encourage walking and cycling.
The package represents a massive rise in local transport spending, which currently totals about £2.7billion a year. Mr Johnson is also expected to announce a series of road schemes such as ring roads and works to improve bottlenecks.
HS2 has been the subject of years of intensive lobbying from politicians and opposition groups.
Several environmental organisations claim building it will cause huge damage to natural habitats, including dozens of ancient woodlands.
Communities living on or near the route have expressed anger at the impact on their lives, while many people have said the project is simply too expensive and the money would be better spent elsewhere.
Labour’s shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald claimed HS2 has been ‘appallingly mismanaged’ by the Conservatives Party.
He called for the high-speed railway to be integrated with Crossrail for North – a proposed boost for rail services between Liverpool and Hull – and eventually extend high-speed lines to Scotland to ‘remove the need for domestic flights’.
The Prime Minister has also announced plans to fast track 10 new ‘free ports’ across the country aimed at driving investment after Britain leaves the EU.
Boris Johnson’s £5billion bus and bike boost
Boris Johnson will attempt to take the sting out of the HS2 rail controversy today by announcing a £5billion package to improve bus services and cycle lanes.
The Cabinet will meet in the morning to give the go-ahead to the troubled HS2 scheme, with the Prime Minister expected to make a formal announcement to MPs later.
The decision means that construction work on the controversial line linking London to Birmingham will finally begin in the next few weeks.
In a bid to head off criticism that the £100billion rail line will bring no benefit to many areas, Downing Street last night unveiled plans for a major boost to bus services in every region of the country.
Sources said the £5billion investment would lead to more services, cheaper and simpler fares and greener vehicles
Sources said the £5billion investment would lead to more services, cheaper and simpler fares and greener vehicles. However, Mr Johnson will risk claims of a new war on the motorist with plans set to include hundreds of miles of roads being dug up to create segregated bus and cycle lanes.
He will also back proposals for dozens of ‘Mini-Holland’ schemes where vehicle use is restricted in towns and suburbs to encourage walking and cycling.
The package represents a massive rise in local transport spending, which currently totals about £2.7billion a year. Mr Johnson is also expected to announce a series of road schemes such as ring roads and works to improve bottlenecks.