High Speed Rail (West Midlands–Crewe) Bill — House of Lords, 2020-11-30
Topic: Transportation
Richard Rosser (Labour, Centre-left): I do not intend to repeat all the points made so persuasively by my noble friend Lord Adonis and other noble Lords in support of his amendment. The Conservative Party manifesto for the 2019 election said that: "HS2 is a great ambition", but, as we all know, great ambitions are not always realised in full. The manifesto went on to say that HS2, "will now cost at least £81 billion and will not reach Leeds or Manchester until as late as 2040." Continuing, the manifesto said that: "We will consider the findings of the Oakervee review into costs and timings and work with leaders of the Midlands and the North to decide the optimal outcome" In other words, there was no unambiguous commitment in the 2019 manifesto to complete HS2 via the East Midlands to Leeds, since the "optimal outcome" was dependent on government consideration of the findings of the Oakervee review into costs and timings In Committee, my noble friend Lord Tunnicliffe invited the Government to commit to building HS2 phase 2b to Leeds in full. In reply, the Government said that: "Plans to provide the benefits of high-speed rail to the east Midlands, Yorkshire and beyond will be confirmed following the publication of the integrated rail plan", and, "that a properly connected line from the Midlands up to the North will be a key part of the HS2 project."—[Official Report, 9/11/20; col. GC 351.] As we know, that reply was not a commitment to build HS2 phase 2b via the East Midlands to Leeds in full It would thus be helpful if the Government could clarify in their response what the phrases, "plans to provide the benefits of high-speed rail to the east Midlands, Yorkshire and beyond", and, "a properly connected line from the Midlands up to the North will be a key part of the HS2 project", actually mean. Do they mean that the Government are committed to building HS2 phase 2b via the East Midlands to Leeds in full, or do they mean not that the high-speed line will be built the whole way from Birmingham via the East Midlands to Leeds but that HS2 services could, for all or part of that journey, run over existing routes calling at existing stations The indications are that the Government are either looking to abandon or scale back the eastern leg of HS2 through to Leeds or, at best, seriously delay its construction and completion. The lack of a clear commitment to the HS2 project in full calls into question the Government’s declared commitment to levelling up, since the eastern leg is just as vital as the delivery of the western leg. Levelling up cannot just mean levelling up the north-west and the West Midlands. It is just as vital to communities in the East Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber and the north-east. Indeed, only proceeding with the western leg would leave the cities and areas that would have been served by the eastern leg at a disadvantage The Government now have the opportunity to put to rest any concerns over their commitment to the eastern leg by saying, in their response today, that they are committed to the construction and bringing into operation of HS2 phase 2b to Leeds via the East Midlands in full, and giving the date by which they intend it will be completed. The Government can also accept the terms of this amendment. We will now have to see if they intend to take that opportunity. It will be for my noble friend Lord Adonis to decide whether he is satisfied with the Government’s response but, if he does decide to call for a vote, we will be supporting him.