Another minister on the anti-HS2 express

MOMENTUM to block the white elephant HS2 high-speed rail project between London and Birmingham is gathering strength following my revelation last week that a Cabinet rebellion is brewing.

I understand that the name of another Cabinet minister should be added to the list of doubters.

Friends of Leader of the Commons, Andrea Leadsom, tell me she is concerned by spiralling costs associated with the project, as well as the devastating impact on the lives of residents affected by construction.

Yesterday’s announcement that London’s Crossrail is running over-budget and behind schedule is a salient warning about the seriousness of these concerns.

It is an open secret within Whitehall that the official HS2 budget of £56 billion gravely underestimates the true cost of the project, which is in urgent need of updating to reflect inflation within the construction industry. As I revealed last week, there are real doubts within 10 Downing Street. These were reflected when the Prime Minister omitted any mention of HS2 from her summary of her domestic agenda on her trip to South Africa last week.

At the very least, it makes sense at this stage for Mrs May to order a review of the project which will establish its true costs. At a time of continued economic austerity it would be madness to do otherwise.