Sir Gavin Williamson, the newly elected MP for Stone, Great Wyrley and Penkridge, has written to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to ask her to rule out reviving HS2’s northern leg.
Sir Gavin’s statement follows comments made on Monday by both the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, and the Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Darren Jones, in which they failed to rule out reviving HS2’s Birmingham to Manchester leg.
HS2 Phase 2 was cancelled in October 2023 after concerns about the project’s value for money and overall feasability. Since 2010, the estimated cost of the scheme had increased from £33bn to over £100bn, and there were mounting concerns about whether trains would even reach central London.
The project had sparked additional backlash amongst communities across Staffordshire, many of whom had seen their land seized in order to make way for the construction of the railway and had not yet received compensation. In his letter, Sir Gavin highlighted the concerns of his own constituents as well as the impact on communities in Lichfield, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent South and Newcastle-Under-Lyme.
He concluded by calling on the Government to instead focus spending on boosting local and regional connectivity as well as improving East-West connections, measures that have been backed by experts throughout the transport sector.
Sir Gavin said: “There is simply no case to be made for HS2 anymore. It has caused devastation to communities across Staffordshire, has blighted our countryside, and will not decrease the length of journeys enough to justify its exorbitant price tag.”
“That’s why I am calling on the Government to channel funding towards infrastructure projects that will actually deliver value for money for communities in the North and the Midlands, rather than wasting taxpayer money on flashy projects that bring little tangible benefit.”
Sir Gavin’s letter can be read in full here.
