Region’s business and political leaders oppose cancellation of Crewe and Manchester leg of HS2

Ahead of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s address to the Conservative Party Conference today (4th October), business and political leaders in the North and Midlands of England have expressed their support for the HS2 high-speed rail service between Birmingham, Crewe Manchester.

Following much media speculation that the Northern leg of the HS2 high-speed rail link between Birmingham, Crewe and Manchester was to be cancelled, a group of over 30 of the region’s businesses have called on the Prime Minister to rethink plans to scrap the investment in the North’s rail infrastructure. In an open letter from businesses in the region, including Alderley Park operator, Bruntwood, and Manchester Airports Group, signatories said cancelling HS2 amounted to a “major act of economic self-sabotage and damage [to] our international standing as a place to do business”, before concluding:

“People know costs need to be controlled, and there is the need for tight scrutiny of the programme, but we also all recognise the need to build for the future success of our towns, cities and communities. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity which we cannot afford to throw away. Scrapping this scale of infrastructure investment would risk our standing as a globally competitive UK in the future, and adversely impact our communities for decades to come.”

The HS2 route was also set to include a station and Manchester Airport. In a statement published on 3rd October, Manchester Airports Group CEO, Ken O’Toole, also called on the Prime Minister to commit to delivering HS2 and an East-West high-speed link across the North for the sake of the region’s economic prosperity. In his statement, Ken O’Toole said:

“It would be wrong of the Prime Minister to abandon the commitments the Government has made to deliver HS2 and Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) – the North needs better connectivity to drive its economy forward.

“For more than a decade, the Government has told the country that rebalancing the economy is one of its top priorities. It sold the country its vision for a new industrial revolution in the North, with high-value industries competing on the global stage and creating jobs and prosperity for everyone who lives and works there. 

“It painted a picture of a super-connected North, where people and businesses in all parts of the region could realise their ambitions. It empowered the North to develop the plan that would unleash its potential and repeatedly backed HS2 and NPR as the projects that would do just that.“

Chief Executive of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership and representing business interests in the region, Henri Murison said:

“It is madness to leave what was meant to be the UK’s flagship infrastructure project like this. Unless we can protect the Hybrid Bill, which is currently going through Parliament and which authorises the tunnel between Manchester and Manchester Airport, this means the end for Northern Powerhouse Rail and levelling up as a whole is finished.

“We urge the Prime Minister to listen to the business community about what this would mean for inward investment, for jobs and the UK’s international reputation. We can only deliver value for money on HS2 by bringing it to the North.”

Local government leaders from across the political spectrum have also urged against the decision. 

Leaders of local authorities in the Cheshire and Warrington sub-region have also written to the Prime Minister setting out the economic benefits to the area, amounting to a £2 billion boost to the local economy, 27,000 additional jobs in the region and upgrades to major stations at Crewe and Warrington Bank Quay. Their letter warns:

“Cancellation of HS2 would have a significant impact on private sector confidence in Cheshire and Warrington and throw away the opportunities the line offers to grow the economy and level up under-performing parts of the North.”

And it concludes:

“History has shown time and again that committing to investment in major infrastructure pays dividends. Whilst large-scale projects will always be challenging to deliver, they bring significant long-term economic benefits.  It is essential, therefore, that HS2 and NPR are delivered in full as quickly as possible.”

Conservative city-region mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, told journalists ahead of Rishi Sunak’s speech that cancelling HS2 meant “turning your back on an opportunity to level up.” He said:

“We all know the costs are escalating well beyond the budget and indeed he is right to try to get a grip of this situation – I fully accept that.

“But gripping this situation means re-examining it, it does not mean giving up, admitting defeat you could say, or even, you could say, cancelling the future.”

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, and Leader of Manchester City Council, Cllr Bev Craig, have also both written jointly to the Prime Minister to enter into discussions with Northern leaders, but received no response ahead of today’s decision.