Pat McFadden said Labour would have to examine the state of the public finances at the time of the next election before committing to High Speed 2
But ministers have refused to guarantee thatLabour said in its official policy dossier released on Friday that it would deliver the project “in full” if it wins the next general election. But Pat McFadden, the shadow Cabinet Office minister and Labour’s campaign co-ordinator, suggested the policy might not end up in the party’s manifesto.He told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “We want to see the railway being built. It looks as though the Government is now putting a question mark over this.
The conclusions of Labour’s national policy forum stated: “We will also keep the promises made to the North and Midlands and deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail and High Speed 2 in full, unlocking billions in economic growth, creating decent jobs, slashing journey times and increasing capacity.” If the Government does cancel the northern spur of HS2 before the next election, it will save billions of pounds in the national accounts. That would mean that to reinstate it, Labour would need to find money from elsewhere – whereas if the Government commits to it, Labour could continue the policy without needing to raise more revenue.
He told Sky News: “The fact of the matter is there are spades in the ground. HS2 is in the process of being built. It is transformational. When I’ve been up to see the fantastic work that Andy Street is doing in the West Midlands, much of that is dependent on the economic input that HS2 will have in that region. It’s an important piece of infrastructure.
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