HS2 Action Alliance and its affiliated action groups are not the only organisation who have contributed anti-HS2 comment or are running anti-HS2 campaigns, see our full list of who is on side. Please let us know of any additions or changes needed. 

This web page summarises the information in the following sections

• introduction
• organisations against HS2,
• MPs who have made public statements challenging HS2 or sceptical about it
• some articles and comments against HS2 in the media
• particular individuals who've made public statements against HS2

 

Introduction

Most of the organisations and individuals are in favour of higher speed rail, though not ultra high speed rail. The opposition to the proposals for HS2 is either on the basis of the principle (its economic, environmental or strategic justification); the specific route that is proposed; or the way it is currently planned to be implemented.

The Labour Party supports HS2 but continue to raise issues eg over the Hybrid bill covering the whole Y route and in late October 2011 announced an alternative route (going direct to Heathrow and following M40).

The Transport Select Committee (TSC) came out in support on 8 Nov 2011, but if you look beneath the headlines they have about as many concerns as those who challenge it.  See our one page summary of 10 key points.

The DfT in their 17 Nov 2011 House of Commons research paper (RP11-75) summarise how they see the arguments from both sides.  Much is drawn from the TSC, and does not give the complete picture, and of course predates any summary of the issues raised in the 55,000 consultation responses – due Dec 2011.

Organisations against

AGAHST   70 local community action groups and 2 national organisations: HS2AA and STOP HS2 that exist to oppose HS2 and promote better alternatives.

HS2 Action Alliance is challenging the economic, business, technical and environmental case for HS2 and seeks to correct the injustice of property blight.  See key briefing notes on capacity and arithmetic of alternatives; the north south divide; the business case; the core messages; 6 myths of HS2 and summary briefing note to MPs for Oct 13 debate.

STOP HS2 is a national campaign to Stop HS2 through campaigning and raising awareness

51m  18 local authorities which have joined together to oppose HS2 (£51m is how much HS2 will cost each Parliamentary Constituency):

Aylesbury Vale District Council
Buckinghamshire County Council
Cherwell District Council
Chiltern District Council
Coventry City Council
Harborough District Council
Leicestershire County Council
Lichfield District Council
London Borough of Hillingdon
North Warwickshire Borough Council
Oxford County Council
South Bucks District Council
South Northants District Council
Stratford-on-Avon District Council
Three Rivers District Council, Hertfordshire
Warwick District Council 
Warwickshire County Council
Wycombe District Council

Other councils opposed but not part of 51m are:

Staffordshire County Council
Camden Borough Council
Ealing borough Council (holding objection)
 

Right Lines Charter Group  13 environmental charity organisations have joined together to put pressure on Government "to proceed with caution and be prepared to give way": In Nov 11 they issued a report of what still needs to be done.

Campaign for Better Transport
Campaign for the Protection of Rural England
Chiltern Society
Civic Voice
Environmental Law Foundation
Friends of the Earth
Greenpeace
Railfuture
Ramblers
Royal Society for the Protection Birds (RSPB)
Society for Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB)
The Wildlife Trusts
The Woodland Trust

The Taxpayers Alliance are running a campaign to cancel HS2 on the basis of cost, more affordable ways of getting capacity, and higher priorities for families and businesses. They recently issued a report on hidden costs of HS2, showing the cost could rise from £17.1 billion to £45.5 billion.

Institute of Directors (IoD)  survey of 1,200 members on transport priorities shows improvements to existing intercity and commuter lines more important than HS2 and larger proportions think that airport capacity increases would improve their productivity

Institute of Economic Affairs is challenging the economic case for HS2.

Conservative Transport Group  says HS2 proposals are flawed.

The Green Party is opposed to HS2 as party policy and campaigns that current proposals are economically and environmentally unsound.

UKIP is opposed to HS2 as part policy, on financial & environmental grounds.

New Economics Foundation do not believe a decision can be made from the evidence provided and seek independent & impartial analysis before proceeding further.

Freshfield Foundation are interested in the HS2 decision making process and find it has material weaknesses and has not been disciplined and transparent.

The Countryside Alliance opposes the proposed plans on cost economic and environmental grounds.

RAC Foundation is opposed based on cost, priorities, HS2's economic and environmental case and who benefits.

Chilterns Conservation Board is opposed because the net benefits are not proven and so do not justify irreversible damage to Chiltern AONB.

National Trust - objections are based on proposed route and mitigation measures.

Federation of Small Busineses - only 6% identified high speed rail as the top priority in a recent survey concerns are removing investment from other schemes and they urge the goverment to consider the huge potential benefits from broadband.

Adam Smith Institute   issued an article on the weak economic justification and a detailed report questioning assumptions about cost, demand and financing options.

London Assembly (Transport Committee) calls for a rethink to address concerns about the impact on London eg need for a new tube line.

Sustainable Development Commission (before abolished) said that spending cash on local transport project would yield greater benefits.

In addition, the following organsiations are sceptical about HS2:

East Midlands Councils
Edinburgh and Glasgow Councils
Exeter Council
Institute for Engineering & Technology
 

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MPs challenging or sceptical about HS2

The following MPs have made a public statement challenging HS2 or are sceptical,  more extensive quotes are within the full document

Steve Baker, Con, Wycombe	"The Government has honourable intentions for regeneration but I think this is the wrong project.”
Tony Baldry, Con, Banbury	“[HS2 is] likely to be to the disadvantage of other cities, such as Coventry.”
Guto Bebb, Con, Aberconwy	"How [will] the economic case for north Wales will be improved by making the journey time to Manchester 1h 10 mins rather than 1h 50 mins, when north Wales will still be 3 1/2 hours away?”
John Bercow, Speaker, Buckingham	“Irresponsible and should be rejected…unaffordable”.  “I can't promise I can get this reversed, but I can promise to do my level best.”
Fiona Bruce, Con, Congleton	“Many issues (in my constituency) could be resolved at a fraction of the £51m that I understand would be the cost of HS2 to my constituency."
Dan Byles, Con, North Warwickshire	“I will continue to work with local activists and councillors to campaign against this project, which I am firmly opposed to."
Ronnie Campbell, Lab, Blyth Valley	“I am beginning to wonder myself if it is a complete waste of time. We could do better things with the money.”
Rehman Chisti Con, Gillingham and Rainham	"......If we want more people to use high-speed rail, it has to be affordable, and we cannot have it at the expense of standard services.”
Therese Coffey, Con, Suffolk Coastal	“....The return on investment from a national, superfast broadband network should far exceed that of HS2...”
Jim Cunningham, Lab,  Coventry South	Now supports those against and highlights loss of services from Coventry
David Davis, Con, Halthem Price and Howden	"... we should cancel the blighted HS2 rail project, which will take us 20 years to work up to being second to France, and spend a small fraction of its bloated costs on a superfast broadband to every house in the country, allowing us to steal a march on the whole world..."
Frank Dobson, Lab, Holborn & St Pancras	“I do take a firm view – I am utterly opposed to HS2.”   ”HS2 is a vanity project. The sooner it is killed off the better for Camden and the better for Britain.”
Maria Eagle, Shadow Transport Secretary Lab, Garston & Haleswood	"......[The PM's] support for high-speed rail is a fig leaf for the appalling impact the scale and speed of his cuts are having on the north. He can't expect a blank cheque from us ....." but now (25 Oct 2011) supports HS2
George Eustice, Con, Camborne and Redruth	"A fortune is being spent to shave 20 minutes of the journey time from London to B'ham when those of us who live at the end of the line in Cornwall have to travel for the best part of 6 hours.”
Michael Fabricant, Whip Con, Lichfield	The more analysis I read on the subject, the more sceptical I become that HS2....is the solution the coalition Government should be pursuing.”
Frank Field, Lab, Birkenhead	Signed 26 Nov 2011 letter in telegraph against HS2
Mark Field, Con, Cities of London & Westminster	“I must confess that the underlying logic of HS2 has always been something of a mystery to me.”
Yvonne Fovargue, Lab, Makerfield	"......As a nation, if we are serious about rail infrastructure we need a UK-wide approach rather than the offer on the table at present.”
Cheryl Gillan, Secretary of State for Wales Con, Chesham and Amersham	“I would defy the party whip – be very, very sure of that. My constituency comes first in all instances. The impact on the whole area would be absolutely phenomenal.”
Roger Godsiff, Lab, Hall Green (Birmingham)	"HS2 is 'vanity scheme' which will cost taxpayers billions of pounds for no good reason” and “the money could be better spent improving public transport in Birmingham...."
Dominic Grieve, Con, Beaconsfield	“I realise this is an extremely controversial project and I've already indicated my concerns about it and whether there's a good underlying business case.”
Tom Harris, Lab, Glasgow	".......You can only win the argument for high-speed rail if you can convince the wider public that there is a valid business case........"
Chris Heaton-Harris, Con, Daventry	“I remain an HS2 sceptic and would like to see a proper value for money case put forward and a change of route”
Kelvin Hopkins, Lab, Luton North	“It is an unnecessary route and will be very expensive, and that money would be better spent elsewhere on modernisation, electrification and resignalling.”
Jeremy Hunt, Culture, Olympics, Media & Sport Secretary, Con, SW Surrey	“...on broadband my perennial fear-this Government is going to press ahead with HS2 and that is a big commitment to make, given all the other economic pressures......"
Nick Hurd, Minister for Civil Society Con, Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner	“The project makes no sense if it is just about getting to Birmingham a little faster.” "There is insufficient evidence in the validity of the HS2 business case and there is no environmental case."
Kevan Jones, Lab, North Durham	"It is a white elephant that will do nothing for the North East....."
Greg Knight, Chairman of Procedure Comm. Con,  East Yorkshire	... it would be more appropriate to spend just a fraction of this money on improving our own road network, particularly bearing in mind that less than 10% of all journeys are undertaken by rail.”
Andrea Leasom, Con, South Northamptonshire	"The case simply does not make economic sense…The more I get to know about it, the more against it I am."
David Liddington, Minister of State, Foreign Office, Con, Aylesbury	“If it came down to it, I would vote against the route as proposed. I am personally against it.”
Caroline Lucas, Green, Brighton Pavilion	“The HS2 rail project is expensive, environmentally damaging, and badly thought through."
Anne Main Con, St Albans	"...I think it is very interesting and important to discuss the business sense behind this scheme, as well as the environmental concerns that have been raised regarding it...."
John McDonnell, Lab, Hayes and Harlington	"......This piecemeal approach is not the way any rational government would go about a consultation on possibly the largest capital infrastructure project in generations.....".
Austin Mitchell, Lab, Grimsby	"“Don't believe all the propaganda the government is putting out about the high speed train and what it will do to boost the North. It will do nothing. ...."
Mark Pawsey, Con, Rugby	".......I am not supportive of the proposals and do not feel that they are justified in the present economic climate..............."
Christopher Pincher, Con, Tamworth	".....I cannot see that their business case stacks up nor do their mitigation plans come anywhere near dealing with the environmental impact of this railway.....".
Stephen Pound, Lab, Ealing North	“Those of us in Perivale certainly feel the pain, and there is no discernible indication of gain.”
Mark Pritchard, Con, The Wrekin	"....I think the costs to taxpayers and to the environment outweigh any possible benefits......"
John Randall, Deputy Chief Whip, Con, Uxbridge and South Ruislip	"HS2 is simply not the answer to improved rail services and economic growth. There are other alternatives, which I believe have not been properly considered.”
Nick Raynsford, Lab, Greenwich and Woolwich	...Pro Thames Estuary airport and claimed the Government's sole response to Britain's aviation needs was to push for a high-speed rail line that faced difficulties on costs and planning grounds.
John Redwood, Con, Wokingham	“This expensive and contentious new track.”
Geoffrey Robinson, Lab, Coventry North West	“A monumental waste of money and diversion of scarce resources.”
Adrian Sanders, Lib Dem, Torbay	“.......Just a tenth of the money they are spending on High Speed Rail could totally reinvigorate transport in the South West...."
Alison Seabeck, Lab, Plymouth Moor View	Regarding negative impact HS2 on investment in South West train services : "There's no doubt the South West has been starved of funds. It's something I have been campaigning on."
Ian Stewart, Con, Milton Keynes South	"....the latest generation of Shinkansen bullet trains, which tilt, opens up the possibility of building lines alongside an existing transport corridor, such as the M1 or M40......"
Rory Stewart, Con, Penrith and the border	"...Whilst I appreciate the need for economic growth and development.... I fear the detrimental impact on our countryside and the cost implications, which are too significant to ignore....”
Ian Swales, Lim Dem, Redcar	“I feel high-speed rail is of doubtful benefit to the North East.”
Andrew Tyrie, Chair Treasury Select Committee, Con, Chichester	"...there could be politically attractive compensation from the scope created for refocusing spending on addressing visible infrastructure blockages to enterprise and growth, not least in the regions that HS2 is supposed to help."
Chris White, Con, Warwick and Leamington	“In my opinion, HS2 fails…on affordability, effectiveness, and on providing value to the taxpayer – and I will continue to press for the Government to reconsider this project.”
Jeremy Wright, Whip, Con, Kenilworth and Southam	“I believe HS2 is defective in two areas – the business case and the preferred route. I am also concerned about the effect HS2 could have on the remainder of the rail network.”
Martin Vickers, Con, Cleesthopes	“Cleethorpes and the area more generally is desperate for a direct route to London, and one worry is that HS2 will suck up all investment resources....."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Articles & Comments against HS2  in the media (small selection)

Commons Library research papers:  This paper by DfT (17 Nov 2011) purports to marshal the arguments of both sides for HS2.

The Economist  (extract from 'The Great Train Robbery'): “Britain still has time to ditch this grand infrastructure project—and should  .....  A good infrastructure scheme has a long life. But a bad one can derail both the public finances and a country’s development ambitions.” 

The Economist  (extract from 'Railroad to Nowhere): "Yet Britain’s infrastructure demands are different from other countries’. Its regular trains are already faster than most other nations’ equivalents. Britain is sufficiently small that even without pricey futuristic technology, Manchester and Leeds are only just over two hours from London. And a greater proportion of the population is already connected to the road and rail network than elsewhere in Europe.
It is also doubtful whether the proposed link would do much to address regional variations. The effect of such projects in other countries has often been to strengthen the competitive advantage of an already dominant city. ...… Far from strengthening the north, then, a high-speed line might end up accentuating regional disparities."
"The £32 billion at its disposal might well yield a higher return if it were spent on less glitzy schemes, such as road improvements and intra-city transport initiatives. If the aim is to regenerate “the north”, the current plan might prove a highspeed route in the wrong direction"

City AM editorial:  "Her first move ought to be to scrap the high-speed rail (#HS2) project."  (following announcement of Justine Greening as new Secretary of State)

Christian Wolmar - Britain's leading transport commentator stated in the Daily Mail: “I am a railway historian and, naturally a strong rail supporter. But even I have to recognise the compelling evidence that the [HS2] scheme cannot be justified. The cost, together with continued need for subsidy, is likely to cripple the economics of an industry that already receives more than £5bn of taxpayers money annually… upgrading the current line with longer trains and longer platforms would produce a similar increase in capacity for considerably less money.”
He has also said, “HS2 is what the French call a Grand Projet, a big idea, when, actually, a lot of little ones would serve us better, improving  the  railways  we already have.” and "The weakest aspect of the case is the ‘green’ argument which virtually falls apart"

George Monbiot, Guardian Columnist: "What's not to like is that the case has not been made. The background data on which these claims are based isn't just sparse – in some cases it's non-existent. Where it does exist, it starkly contradicts other government figures. I wanted to be convinced, perhaps I still could be. But the Department for Transport's argument currently consists of several thousand pages of wishful thinking.”

Independent Editorial: "Rail makes its case for more support... Whether this growth in the popularity of rail travel boosts the case for costly grands projets such as the high-speed connection to the Midlands, costed at about £30bn, is open to question. It is interesting that the highest growth this year was in journeys taken in London and the south-east rather than in long-distance travel, while another growth area was in use of small rural branch lines – precisely the kind of lines that used to be considered the rail network's biggest liability. The argument deserves to continue, therefore, over whether future investment should be targeted towards further improvements to high-speed, cross-country routes, or plugging the woeful gaps in our often neglected commuter and branch line services."

Sunday Telegraph Editorial: “At a time of painful cuts elsewhere,spending such a large sum on a single project that will only benefit a portion of the country is a criminal waste of scarce resources"

Financial Times editorial: “..this newspaper struggles with the case for the line.. To govern is to choose. Would the benefits of a shiny new high speed line outweigh the less visible but valuable things that could be done with the limited funds available?”

Camilla Cavendish, The Times: “There is an idea that it will take business to the North. But official documents suggest that the majority of jobs created will be in the South, and that capital is likely to flow from Manchester and Leeds to London rather than the other way round”

Andrew Gilligan, The Telegraph : “The burning need in public transport is not for sexy, pointy nosed high speed supertrains, whose economics (and green credentials) simply don’t stack up. It’s for boring, unglamorous improvements to the quotidian services we actually use”

Paul Routledge, Daily Mirror: ”If it’s ever built, which I doubt, the high-speed rail link between London and Birmingham will be the biggest white elephant since Nellie packed her trunk and trundled off to the circus“

Mike Rutherford, Financial Editor, Daily Telegraph:  We seem to be committing ourselves to an eye-wateringly expensive railroad for the few
High speed plan is madness”

Simon Jenkins, the Guardian: " It is just possible that some new high-speed track makes sense somewhere, but it remains to be proved by independent, rather than interest-dominated, analysis. It certainly should be proved against the value of similar sums devoted to upgrading the existing track, eliminating bottlenecks and improving the reliability of rolling stock and signals."

John Kay, Financial Times: “At a time when public expenditure cuts are focused excessively on capital expenditure, we are in danger of directing too much investment to vanity projects – like the Olympics, high-speed broadband, high-speed rail – whose returns are political excitement rather than tangible.”

Brian Monteith, Scotsman: "High speed train link the fast track to losing out... The economic case for HS2 coming to Scotland should have its own health warning plastered across it - if there was any report for it to be stuck on. Instead, the Scottish transport minister, Keith Brown, has said the case is "compelling, robust and clear". If that is so then maybe he would care to publish it for all to see... HS2 will not provide any service between Scottish cities; all passengers will be going to or coming from points south."

Sustainable Development Commission say this is a vanity project and that not enough money is being spent on local schemes that will offer practical benefits in people’s daily lives.  See the Times (subscription required) for full article based on the Commission's report entitled 'Fairness in a car dependent society'.

 

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Other Particular Individuals Who Have Made Public Statements about HS2

21 businessmen, including Lord Lawson (ex Chancellor of the Exchequer), Ruth Lea (Director, Arbuthnot banking Group) Lord Vinson (Former Director Barclays Bank) and Lord Wolfston (CEO Next),  wrote a letter to the Daily Telegraph  “There is already a fast and frequent service to Birmingham and Manchester, existing trains running at up to 125mph already mean that there are few flights on that route. There are better options to increase capacity more affordably and reduce overcrowding more quickly than HS2, which will take decades to complete… An extremely expensive white elephant isn’t what the economy needs... there are better ways to get Britain growing and make us more competitive than getting each family to pay over £1,000 for a vanity project that we cannot afford."

Paul Coxhead (BCCC board; CEO of TTP-training firm): "It's obscene to spend £17 billion at a time of austerity, when cuts are being made to basic services, just to save half an hour on the journey to London"

Andrew Dinsmore (former labour MP for Hendon): "I can think of many higher priorities on which to spend £17billion"

Andrew Cook, Chairman William Cook Holdings, Sheffield (Yorkshire steel firm): "I AM a very frequent user of East Midlands and East Coast trains between Yorkshire and London. I do not welcome HS2, if it ever happens, for two reasons………. Firstly, the reduced journey times will have the effect of extending London’s commuter belt by at least 100 miles, which risks hollowing out the economies of regional centres like Birmingham and Leeds……….Secondly, the existing two- hour journey time is about what one needs to work, read, have a cup of tea and generally catch up………"

David Henderson and David Sawyers: They argue the basis on which the costs benefits assessment has been done is wrong and misleading
“I argue that, in this case and more generally, this officially-approved test [cost benefit criterion} gives misleading results and should not be used”.  Extract from TSC submission

Lord Heseltine: “If you actually look at what has happened to the great northern cities and many others, the renaissance of those cities in the last 20/30 years has been on a scale not seen since Victoria ruled this country.  Just take Newcastle, it is incredible the difference on the Tyne that has taken place, the same is true of Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool. It is a wonderful thing to see. Now that doesn’t mean you have solved the problem, because you haven’t but you have started a process that will greatly help the problem.  “
“This progress to date could surely be undone by linking these regenerated cities to London.   Sucking their newly found wealth into the South”

Lord Digby Jones, a supporter of HS2: "Anyone in Birmingham that says that HS2 will do anything other that make Birmingham a dormitory town for London needs to get real"

Archie Norman (ITV chairman):  "HS2 is the most extraordinarily expensive “grand project” and could cost every taxpaying household £1,000 each for something that will deliver no great value for nearly 20 years. Even then it will be of benefit to very few. It is based on the idea that we can be like the French, but this is not France. The likelihood of cost-overruns is high and the damage to countryside and communities certain and permanent. Scrap HS2 now and announce instead £17bn of spending – half the amount – to bring about the biggest improvement in history of Britain’s existing railway."

Edmund King (president of the AA), announcing result of opinion poll: "If speed is not the over-riding factor then it seems that the Government is backing the wrong horse with HS2. This scheme will not provide best value for money. Spending the £34 billion cost on conventional rail upgrades, removing road bottlenecks, building bypasses and improving road maintenance would provide much better value for money."

Michael Leahy, General Secretary of Community Union: “As somebody who witnessed first-hand what the Tories did to those industrial heartlands in the 1980s, I plead forgiveness for my scepticism about their decision to only take HS2 from London to Birmingham, letting the rest rely on expensive upgrades to existing infrastructure, that will not deliver the same long-term benefits or connectivity and will continue to maintain the north-south divide.
The coalition would do well to heed those who advocate the full implementation of the HS2 project. Failure to seize that opportunity will reveal the lack of political and economic vision at the heart of the current government.”

James & Oliver Phelps (Harry Potter actors):  “I am very ANTI HS2. Why not invest £32b into the lines already built. And not wreck our fantastic countryside.”
“I think it’s pretty easy to see now the police and other emergency services need better funding not cuts. We need order not a HS2.”

Janet Street Porter: “David Cameron said he profoundly believed it [HS2] was a good way of bringing the North and South closer together. I beg to differ. What will get our economy functioning again is far more prosaic – millions of tons of salt and grit applied to pavements and roads by council workers who are not being laid off.”

Chris Tarrant: "This is, as usual, big business interests being allowed to trample all over everything in their path.  Who needs this ridiculous sounding train anyway?  I am totally opposed to it [HS2]."