It’s not too late to scrap HS2, says IEA rail expert
24 January 2020
SUGGESTED
Housing and Planning
Government and Institutions
28 January 2020
External Authors
Commenting on the National Audit Office (NAO) report, urging the Government and HS2 Ltd to be more “transparent” about the costs of the project, the IEA’s Head of Transport Dr Richard Wellings said:
“HS2 has been a flawed project from the start. It offers limited value for money for taxpayers who will bear the majority of the cost burden: one which is now set to exceed £106bn, over three times what the Government initially planned for, and even that estimate may not reflect the eventual sum.
“There is a need for improving transport capacity, but HS2 is not an efficient or cost-effective solution. Indeed, if the HS2 project made any economic sense private sector organisations would be queuing up to get involved, rather than forcing the ever-increasing costs on the hard-pressed taxpayer.
“It’s not too late to scrap HS2. The government should stop pouring billions into this deeply unpopular vanity project and look at how the current HS2 budget could be spent in other ways. Investment in local transport, lower taxes and less regulation would do far more to regenerate the North of England than an expensive and uncontrollable pet project.”
For media enquiries please contact Emily Carver, Media Manager | 07715 942 731
For further IEA reading on HS2, click 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 and seeks to provide analysis in order to improve the public understanding of economics.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
“HS2 has been a flawed project from the start. It offers limited value for money for taxpayers who will bear the majority of the cost burden: one which is now set to exceed £106bn, over three times what the Government initially planned for, and even that estimate may not reflect the eventual sum.
“There is a need for improving transport capacity, but HS2 is not an efficient or cost-effective solution. Indeed, if the HS2 project made any economic sense private sector organisations would be queuing up to get involved, rather than forcing the ever-increasing costs on the hard-pressed taxpayer.
“It’s not too late to scrap HS2. The government should stop pouring billions into this deeply unpopular vanity project and look at how the current HS2 budget could be spent in other ways. Investment in local transport, lower taxes and less regulation would do far more to regenerate the North of England than an expensive and uncontrollable pet project.”
Notes to editors:
For media enquiries please contact Emily Carver, Media Manager | 07715 942 731
For further IEA reading on HS2, click 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 and seeks to provide analysis in order to improve the public understanding of economics.
The IEA is a registered educational charity and independent of all political parties.
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