Transport

Cost of HS2 now “simply unjustifiable”, says IEA expert


SUGGESTED

Healthcare

Christopher Snowdon writes for the Daily Telegraph

Lifestyle Economics
Responding to the news that HS2 has been given the green light to enter the construction phase, Dr Richard Wellings, Head of Transport at the Institute of Economic Affairs, said:

“The economic case for HS2 was always weak. With the country in the midst of a Covid-19 induced economic downturn, the cost of this rail project – predicted to reach a mammoth £106 billion – is simply unjustifiable.

“At a time of crisis, the government should not be spending taxpayers’ money on deeply unpopular vanity projects that offer very limited value for money.”

Notes to editors


For media enquiries please contact Emily Carver, Media Manager: 07715 942 731.

For more IEA reading on HS2, click here and here.

The mission of the Institute of Economic Affairs is to improve understanding of the fundamental institutions of a free society by analysing and expounding the role of markets in solving economic and social problems.

The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.



Newsletter Signup