The Australian argument against HS2

SIR – Elizabeth Adams (Letters, May 3) has good reason to question the wisdom of HS2: the project makes no sense whatsoever. Why make it even easier for people in the North to travel to London for an easy buck?

The promise was to stimulate business prospects in the North. Money and thought should be invested in enhancing connectivity there, and giving people incentives to prove themselves a match for London.

We should look to Perth, in Western Australia, for guidance. Despite – or thanks to – poor connectivity with Sydney and Melbourne, it has in the last 25 years emerged from the backwaters to become a desirable and extremely successful region. Gerda Pope Weybridge, Surrey

SIR – Here in rural Cheshire we have been battling against HS2 for several years – not just because of the cost, but also because the land in this area has historically been mined for brine and is prone to intense flooding, so cannot withstand such a structure. Yet this week, work has commenced in two small villages, with workers coming from outside the area and then using the shops.

Boris Johnson has said that he owes his life to the NHS – yet he has decided to give billions of pounds to HS2 when it could go to the health service instead. We can live without getting into London a few minutes earlier, but we cannot live without the NHS. It is time the Prime Minister got his priorities in order, with HS2 somewhat further down the list. Susan Batters Northwich, Cheshire

SIR – The Government is seriously underestimating the effects of its decision on HS2.

Against the wishes of the people, who have been distracted by coronavirus, it has sneaked ahead with the project.

My Conservative friends are divided. Half of them will still vote Conservative – but half of them won’t. John Kirby Holbeton, Devon