On Tuesday, North Warwickshire’s Member of Parliament, alongside, former Cabinet Minister David Davis MP launched a report detailing 28 local and national transport infrastructure projects that could be funded if High Speed 2 (HS2) was scrapped.
HS2 will have a devastating impact on our local community in North Warwickshire.
With the latest evidence suggesting that costs could almost double, taxpayers are demanding more for their money. Even on current estimates, scrapping HS2 would free up at least £50 billion to improve transport links up and down the country.
In September 2018 the TaxPayers' Alliance launched the cross-party Great British Transport Competition to find alternative transport infrastructure projects totalling up to £50bn. Organisations and members of the public from across the UK submitted their ideas, with entries assessed by a panel of judges.
The results were presented on Tuesday with a special event in the Houses of Parliament. CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT
Craig Tracey MP said:
"Whilst I am fully supportive of improving the nation's transport, I genuinely don’t believe that HS2 is the solution.
"Today's results of the Great British Transport Competition show exactly how money can be better spent on infrastructure, both locally and nationally, which is more in tune with what the public actually wants, whilst also delivering long term economic benefits.
"We received some excellent entries and many congratulations to the winners. Ministers should seriously consider this package of proposals as a popular and credible alternative to HS2."
Rt Hon David Davis MP said:
"The TaxPayers’ Alliance have done a fantastic job compiling 28 exciting transport infrastructure projects that could be delivered around the country instead of HS2.
"Together, the projects would bridge the divide between North and South, boost economic growth, improve capacity in our transport networks and provide a better service to passengers. What’s more, all proposals combined could be delivered quicker and cheaper than HS2.
"It is time we cancelled this vanity white elephant and focused on ensuring we properly prepare for the future needs of a fast-growing post-Brexit economy."
Key findings:
- 28 winning projects were chosen by the judging panel.
- The projects would improve transport infrastructure across Great Britain.
- The combined cost of the projects comes to £45.1 billion, nearly £11 billion cheaper than the current estimated cost of HS2.
- Many of the entries require only relatively small sums of money to achieve vast benefits for local communities.
Entries were judged by an expert panel, including qualified surveyors, engineers, accountants, politicians and transport industry experts:
- Craig Tracey MP
- Lord Framlingham
- Lord Berkeley
- Michael Byng, infrastructure and procurement specialist
- James Roberts, Political Director - TaxPayers' Alliance
- Phil Basey, Research Fellow - TaxPayers' Alliance
Commenting on the report, John O'Connell, chief executive of TaxPayers’ Alliance, said:
"We have long argued that HS2 is a waste of taxpayers' money and this report makes that fact even clearer. Instead of spending £56 billion on a vanity project, the government should heed this report and look at the many excellent alternatives on offer. Given the number of excellent alternatives, it's now time to scrap this white elephant."
ENDS
