Controversy raised after Sunak’s video on HS2

By Noha Mahmoud

News Story (6.10.2023) City University

Immediately after his speech in Manchester on Wednesday noon, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak posted a pre-recorded video on Twitter, giving grounds for the HS2 decision.

This pre-recorded video by Sunak, announcing the cancellation of HS2 phase two, has caused debate. The Guardian said that the video “was filmed in Downing Street, recorded in advance,” although Sunak, claimed on Tuesday that he wanted to take his time and would not be rushed. Even Jeremey Hunt, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said on the same day that no formal decision had been taken.

Sunak formally announced he has cancelled the planned HS2 rail link from Birmingham to Manchester in his speech to the Conservative party Conference, on Wednesday.

But the video posted by the prime minister on his twitter account, minutes after his speech, has raised controversy regarding whether Downing Street had been misleading.

In an interview on Sky News, Mark Harper, the Transport Secretary, said that the government had been working on the plan for weeks. “But the decision was taken this week, on Tuesday, by me … all very straightforward.”

He said that the decision was approved by the cabinet on Wednesday, and the government has done “lots of work in advance” in this regard.

During his speech, Sunak said that money allocated for the project — approximately £36 billion — would be reinvested in other regional transport links. “There is nothing ambitious about simply pouring more and more money into the same project.”

HS2 was initially budgeted at £55.7 billion in 2015, however soaring inflation pushed costs even higher, reaching an estimated £98 billion in 2020.

He added, “For too long, Westminster has invested in the projects they want, not the projects the rest of the country wants and needs.”

Lichfield MP, Michael Fabricant, said that “Scrapping the second phase of HS2 was a brave decision by the Prime Minister,” but declined to answer me whether the decision was solely for election purposes and his perspective on the criticisms emerging from the northern regions following the cancellation.

The Conservative party conference — where Sunak formally announced the decision on HS2 — is the last before a general election in 2024.

Emma Norris and Gemma Tetlow, from Institute for Government, have said that “Sunak’s latest announcements will do little more than further undermine belief in the UK government’s ability to plan long-term and deliver much-needed infrastructure.”