Business leaders say the East Midlands is being “levelled down”, not up, under Rishi Sunak’s decision to scrap HS2 north of Birmingham.
After weeks of speculation the PM finally announced in his party conference speech what everyone already knew and said the High Speed 2 railway lines west from Birmingham to Crewe/Manchester and east as far as East Midlands Parkway on the Notts/Leicestershire border would not now happen.
He told Ministers, MPs and the party faithful at the Manchester conference that it was unsustainable to go ahead with the plans after the cost of the project had doubled.
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Ending what he called a “long-running saga” he said: “I am cancelling the rest of the HS2 project and in its place, we will reinvest every single penny, £36 billion in hundreds of new transport projects in the north and the midlands, across the country.
“This means £36 billion of investment in the project that will make a real difference across our nation.”
He said that investment would include pushing forward with the £900 million-to-£1.5 billion plans for a Midlands Rail Hub improving links between 50 different stations in the East and West Midlands, providing what transport body Midland Connect says will be “faster, better and more frequent connections”.
The PM said he would also put money into upgrading the A1, the A5 and M6 motorways and dual carriageways which all run through the region.
However, East Midlands Chamber chief executive Scott Knowles said the loss of HS2 in the north showed how little the PM cared about the provinces.
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He said: “Businesses in the East Midlands are exasperated at the HS2 saga that has been playing out for over a decade now and this latest embarrassing U-turn is another nail in the coffin for the Government’s levelling up mantra, which shows little sign of arriving in our region.
“While lots of the discussion today will be about the impact on Manchester and other parts of the North, the East Midlands continues to be bottom of the pile when it comes to public transport investment.
“Much like the trains travelling on our Victorian rail infrastructure, we find ourselves once again at a standstill, far away from the destination we want to reach and with next to no idea how we’re supposed to get there.
“Rail in our region has been a political hot potato for decades – we are still waiting for Midland Main Line electrification to be delivered and plans for the HS2 Eastern Leg were scaled back in the Integrated Rail Plan, resulting in areas like Chesterfield, Staveley and Toton losing out on significant economic regeneration benefits.
“At a time when we need to demonstrate to the rest of the world that we’re a country with big ambition, there is instead a complete inability to deliver major infrastructure projects, as the chopping and changing of Government administrations is reflected in policy indecision.
“The East Midlands is a world-class producer of products. This demands a world-class transport infrastructure to get these goods and services across the country, and around the globe.
“This announcement damages confidence and has real-world impacts in terms of job creation and business investment, not to mention job retention among the numerous East Midlands businesses that play a key role in the HS2 supply chain.
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“Government is failing one of its basic principles – to use economic policy that creates an environment in which business can thrive, invest and create jobs.
"Forget levelling up – it feels like we are being levelled down in the East Midlands. Again.”
Sir John Peace, chairman of Midlands Connect, said: “We are disappointed and disheartened by the HS2 announcement.
“We must not start from scratch, we must work at pace to deliver HS2 Phase 1 all the way to Euston. There are also lessons to be learnt from the HS2 story so far.
“The Midlands Rail Hub and road programmes including the A5 which have been announced today resonate with us, these are our transformational East-West priorities for the region, which we recommended and have been progressing with Government.
“We are now calling for more detail on timescales and plan of action, and asking for a high-level urgent meeting with ministers, to ensure these plans and the benefits for the Midlands are delivered as quickly as possible.
“We will now work, like we always do, cross-party and in an open and collaborative way with all involved.”
Meanwhile Laurence Turner, the GMB union’s head of research and policy, said: “Rishi Sunak’s decision to inflict the biggest rail cut since the Beeching axe will send a shockwave through the construction industry and railway supply chain, costing hundreds of jobs.
“The 海角视频’s political instability was already holding the economy back – it will now be even harder to fund and deliver the new infrastructure that the country desperately needs.
“We can’t rebalance the economy or fix the railway capacity crisis without HS2. It’s essential that the planned route is now protected so that a future government can reverse this disastrous decision.”
Speaking to reporters at the party conference Transport Secretary Mark Harper said he believed changes made to HS2 and wider transport investment plans were “good deal for the Midlands”.
In a tweet, Mansfield Tory MP and Nottinghamshire County Council leader Ben Bradley – who wants to be the first mayor of the East Midlands – said: “Excellent speech by the PM. Proper Common Sense, and loads of things that my constituents will wholly agree with.
“On HS2, I've confirmed that fast trains will still reach the East Mids, plus HUGE new transport investment the region.”