Louise Haigh comments on the spiralling cost of HS2 Phase 1
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Louise Haigh MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on
HS2 Ltd confirming that the cost of HS2 Phase 1 has risen
by at least £9bn in six months, said: “This is a direct
result of Rishi Sunak's weak leadership and mismanagement of HS2.
“As Chief Secretary, Chancellor and now PM Rishi Sunak has allowed
costs to soar and public money go down the drain. “This is a
government with no direction, no plan and no regard for taxpayers’
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Louise Haigh MP, Labour’s Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on HS2 Ltd confirming that the cost of HS2 Phase 1 has risen by at least £9bn in six months, said: “This is a direct result of Rishi Sunak's weak leadership and mismanagement of HS2. “As Chief Secretary, Chancellor and now PM Rishi Sunak has allowed costs to soar and public money go down the drain. “This is a government with no direction, no plan and no regard for taxpayers’ money. “Labour has launched an independent expert review of transport infrastructure to learn lessons from this shambles, and we will work with our mayors and the rail industry to develop a credible infrastructure plan that can be delivered on time and to budget within our fiscal rules.” Ends Notes:
In the latest HS2 6-monthly report to Parliament, published 15
November 2023, Rail Minister Huw Merriman has
admitted the Government’s estimate at completion of HS2 phase 1
(including estimated cost reductions from the cancellation of
phase 2) is now between £45bn to £54bn in 2019 prices: In June 2023, the estimated cost at completion for phase one of HS2 was between £35bn to £45bn in 2019 prices:https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/hs2-6-monthly-report-to-parliament-june-2023 Comparing the upper range of these estimates (£45bn in June and £54bn in November), there has been an increase of £9bn in just four months. Timeline of Rishi Sunak’s HS2 failures: All meeting log analysis has been done from HMT and Cabinet Office Ministerial transparency publications. As Chief Secretary to the Treasury (24 July 2019 – 13 February 2020):
HS2 costs, September 2019: A report by HS2 Ltd chairman Allan
Cook says HS2 may not be completed until 2040 and could cost
£88 billion.
HS2 costs, April 2020: Estimated cost for the full HS2 network
revised to a range of
between £72 billion-£98 billion.
As Prime Minister (25 October 2022 – Present):
HS2 costs, March 2023: Project is delayed and work on London
Euston terminal is paused as costs balloon from
£2.6bn to £4.8bn. Leaked documents reveal delays will cost an
extra £366m.
Additional sources: · The Prime Minister is reported to be “alarmed” at the spiralling cost of HS2: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunak-hs2-alarmed-runaway-cost-5qb6pb9w7 · When Sunak was appointed Chief Secretary to the Treasury, it was estimated that HS2 would cost at least £55.7bn:https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8601/#:~:text=The%20cost%20of%20HS2%20has,to%20take%20account%20of%20inflation. · National Audit Office report on the progress of HS2: https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/High-Speed-Two-A-progress-update.pdfm · The NAO found that HS2 delays will lead to “additional costs and potentially to higher spend overall”: https://news.sky.com/story/euston-hs2-delays-would-mean-extra-costs-and-higher-spending-watchdog-warns-12843088#:~:text=Delays%20linking%20up%20HS2%20and,reset%22%20in%202020%20was%20unsuccessful. · Sunak fails to confirm line will go ahead in interviews: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/its-a-yes-or-a-no-rishi-sunak-monstered-on-radio-manchester-over-hs2_uk_651539fce4b087c52320539d?d_id=6437011&ncid_tag=tweetlnkukhpmg00000001&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=uk_main |