Update: As I wrote, the Tories are making much of Ed Balls’s absence from the vote, but Labour sources point out that Ed Miliband also didn’t attend, along with most Labour MPs (it was a one-line whip). And, as no one has pointed out yet, nor did David Cameron.
HS2 has comfortably cleared its first parliamentary hurdle, with 350 MPs voting in favour of the High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill and just 34 against. The rebels included 18 Tories, a smaller number than originally expected, and 11 Labour MPs. But today’s division was a mere hors d’oeuvre to the main vote next spring on the Hybrid Bill (which would grant the government the power to compulsorily purchase the land required to build and operate the new line), with many would-be opponents choosing to stay away. Among those not present, as the Tories have mischievously noted, was Ed Balls, who sparked the recent speculation that Labour could come out against the project when he declared in his conference speech, “the question is – not just whether a new High Speed line is a good idea or a bad idea, but whether it is the best way to spend £50 billion for the future of our country.”
Content from our partners
