It’s crucial that the entire country benefits from HS2 - Mcdonald

Andy Mcdonald MP, Shadow Transport Secretary, commenting on the HS2 Bill being set to receive Royal Assent, said: 

“Labour supports High Speed Two (HS2) as it will help to address the severe capacity constraints on our rail network. The government must now get on with Phase 2 in order to transform connectivity in the Midlands and the North, as well as committing to a Crossrail for the North, as Labour have, in order to redress the chronic underinvestment in transport in the North of England.

“It’s crucial that the entire country benefits from HS2 and the government must now demonstrate how the benefits of construction will be spread throughout the UK as well as guaranteeing the use of UK steel.

“Considering the huge amounts of public money being spent on this project, it’s vital that the government ensure good value for taxpayers. This has to mean ruling out squandering money by running High Speed 2 as a franchise, and instead committing to running it in the public sector as a public service.”