New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Politics
8 October 2013

Labour sends Cameron another warning over HS2

New shadow transport secretary Mary Creagh echoes Ed Balls's argument that the £50bn for the project could potentially be better spent elsewhere.

By George Eaton

Labour aides were keen to emphasise yesterday that the departure of Maria Eagle, a committed supporter of High Speed 2, as shadow transport secretary did not signal any change in the party’s position on the project. But it’s worth flagging up the first statement from her replacement Mary Creagh

After the Treasury select committee warned that there were “serious shortcomings” in the economic case for HS2 and called for the project to be suspended until they had been addressed, Creagh said: 

Labour supports the idea of a new North-South rail link, but under this Government HS2 has been totally mismanaged and the costs have shot up to £50 billion.

David Cameron and George Osborne have made clear they will go full steam ahead with this project whatever the cost. Labour will not take this irresponsible approach. There will be no blank cheque for this project or for any project, because we need to ensure it is the best way to spend £50 billion for the future of our country.

The significance of this response is that Creagh has echoed Ed Balls’s argument that the funds for the project could potentially be better spent elsewhere. When Balls first made those remarks in his speech to the Labour conference (“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 £50bn for the future of our country”), some in the party suggested that he had overstepped the mark (with Maria Eagle doing her best to distance herself from Balls in her speech), but his words have now been adopted as party policy. 

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

For Balls, the main attraction of a U-turn on HS2 is that would allow Labour to outspend the Tories in politically vital areas (“building new homes or new schools or new hospitals”) while remaining within George Osborne’s fiscal envelope. Unless the coalition can significantly reduce the projected cost of the project (as Andrew Adonis has urged it to do), it does now seem a question of when, not if, Labour withdraws its support. 

Content from our partners
Can green energy solutions deliver for nature and people?
"Why wouldn't you?" Joining the charge towards net zero
The road to clean power 2030