Jeremy Hunt says the costs of HS2 are 'totally out of control'
Jeremy Hunt says the costs of HS2 are ‘totally out of control’ as he refuses to commit to building the Manchester leg of the project
- £2.3billion has already been spent on the Birmingham to Manchester leg
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last night said the costs of HS2 were ‘getting totally out of control’ as he refused to commit to building the Manchester leg.
Proposals to make major cuts to the Government’s flagship high-speed rail project would see the Birmingham to Manchester leg scrapped, despite £2.3billion having already been spent on it.
Both Mr Hunt and the Prime Minister have refused to comment on reports that ministers are seeking to save £35billion through the move, with the Chancellor suggesting no decisions have been made.
Tory MPs have warned the Government not to go ahead with the move, while Labour has accused the Tories of a ‘great rail betrayal’ by not completing the high-speed rail line in full.
Mr Hunt told LBC last night: ‘As Chancellor, you would expect me to be having discussions with the Prime Minister when major infrastructure projects over-run in their costs. And that’s what we’re facing with HS2.’
Proposals to make major cuts to the Government’s flagship high-speed rail project would see the Birmingham to Manchester leg scrapped
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt last night said the costs of HS2 were ‘getting totally out of control’ as he refused to commit to building the Manchester leg
He said he ‘understands’ the concerns, particularly of Red Wall MPs who felt they were being let down, but added: ‘They will also be worried if we have an infrastructure project where the costs are getting totally out of control.
‘And that’s why you would expect me as Chancellor to be having discussions but let me say to you now, we haven’t made any decisions on this.
‘We are looking at all the options. But we do need to find a way of delivering infrastructure projects that don’t cost taxpayers billions and billions of pounds.’
Earlier, Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch said: ‘We’ve been having a conversation about affordability. I haven’t seen the numbers yet. I am not up to date on what the state of the project is.
‘Of course, we want to make sure we build infrastructure which serves all people across the UK. That is what the HS2 project is about, so we do support it.’
Labour has accused the Tories of a ‘great rail betrayal’ by not completing the high-speed rail line in full (Pictured: An aerial shot of the Birmingham HS2 construction site)
The planned railway – intended to link London, the Midlands and the North of England – has been plagued by delays and ballooning costs which have caused fissures in the Tory party.
Various estimates have put the total cost of HS2 at more than £100billion, while the project has been rated ‘unachievable’ by the infrastructure watchdog.
Reports have also emerged that the line will now end at Old Oak Common in West London instead of Euston.
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