HS2 To Be Debated In The House Of Commons

I have secured a debate on High Speed Two to be held in the House of Commons Chamber on Thursday 13 October. The debate will be a general debate which will cover all aspects of this project.

Following a previous debate in Parliament earlier this year, the Backbench Business Committee have agreed to allocate time in the Chamber to discuss this topical issue, which is of national significance, due to the overwhelming number of MPs who wish to speak and the wide spectrum of opinion on this issue.

I am delighted that, with support from many colleagues across all Parties, we have managed to secure this debate. The consultation on HS2 has now closed and the Government will be presenting their findings by the end of the year. It is extremely important that a project of such national significance, that will cost every household in the country £1,000, is debated and scrutinised closely.

I will be arguing that, whilst agreeing with the urgent need to improve our rail capacity, HS2 is not the right choice. This project will deliver no relief to struggling commuters on the West Coast Mainline until 2026 at the earliest and once completed I fear that local commuter services from places such as Rugby, Milton Keynes, Coventry and Northampton will actually suffer as a result. The project will be, at best, carbon neutral and I do not believe that this project will achieve the regeneration of Northern cities and towns, that is predicted.

At a time when households around the country are being asked to make savings, it is right that we ensure we are achieving good value for taxpayer's money. The Institute for Economic Affairs, the Taxpayer's Alliance and The Economist, to name a few, have all called into question the value of this project. At £32 billion I believe that this money can be better spent on projects such as Rail Package 2, investment in existing rail services, reopening local rail lines and investment in high speed broadband which will improve connections across the country and can be delivered far quicker than HS2.

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