Crop of newly elected MPs pile on the pressure to abandon HS2
BORIS JOHNSON is facing fresh opposition to HS2 from new Conservative MPs who have laid down markers that they will oppose the scheme.
Dame Cheryl Gillan, the former Cabinet minister who was last week reelected to her Chesham and Amersham parliamentary seat, has written to the Prime Minister together with neighbouring newly elected MPs, calling for an urgent meeting on the scheme, which Mr Johnson admitted is likely to cost more than £100billion.
The successful Tory candidates are among those joining the ranks of existing parliamentarians calling for the project to be scrapped, amid growing concerns about its costs and impact on the landscape.
The Y-shaped line is due to run from London to Birmingham and then on to Leeds and Manchester, but following his election as Tory leader Mr Johnson launched a review into “whether and how” it should proceed.
Dame Cheryl’s letter has been signed by Rob Butler, the new MP for Aylesbury, Bucks, and Greg Smith, who has succeeded John Bercow as MP for Buckingham. The constituencies of all three MPs are affected by the line.
Dame Cheryl wrote to Mr Johnson: “Many congratulations on the tremendous result that you have achieved for the Conservatives in the country. It will be good to have a solid Conservative government able to deliver our promises to the people.
“I too have to deliver on my promises to my constituents and it will come as no great surprise that I am asking if I can have an urgent meeting with you alongside my newly-elected Buckinghamshire colleagues to discuss and examine the future of HS2 Phase One between London and Birmingham.”
She added: “All of us have opposed HS2 and I believe that we should now be able to pause or halt Phase One.
“We could then redeploy the investment into our newly-won northern areas, building the links from Birmingham northwards, creating connectivity to the cross-Pennines link that is so needed, and intensifying our investment in high speed broadband and 5G.”
Immediately after his election in Aylesbury, through which the high speed line is due to run, Mr Butler claimed that HS2 had “no environmental or economic case” and pledged to raise the issue on his arrival in Parliament this week. Mr Smith told constituents during the campaign that he was “against HS2 and will fight it with all I’ve got”.
Separately, Joy Morrissey, who beat Dominic Grieve to become the new MP for Beaconsfield, also in Buckinghamshire, has said that she plans to vote against further legislation paving the way for the line.
Mr Johnson shelved the official review of the controversial scheme until after the election.
Lord Berkeley, the review’s deputy chairman, has spoken out to claim that the study’s working assumption was wrongly that the project would go ahead “rather than looking at the pros and cons of alternative options”. Theresa May’s government had claimed the scheme was on track to meet £56billion budget.
But, in an interview with this newspaper last month, Mr Johnson admitted that it was likely to cost “north of £80billion, maybe £100 billion” – confirming a view he had expressed before becoming prime minister.
He said: “That’s a lot of money, you can do a lot with that money.
“I do want to say, there are big, big question marks about the way the HS2 spend is being profiled ... but I’m basically a fan of infrastructure.
“I think this country deserves better infrastructure. So my instincts are going to be pro-infrastructure where possible. I’m keeping an open mind on HS2.” its