The Yorkshire Post editor, James Mitchinson, on why HS2 matters to the north and asks the Prime Minister: "Where's the money gone? Who has benefited thus far?"
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00:00 Hello, my name's James Mitchinson, I'm the editor of the Yorkshire Post and today I want
00:06 to talk to you about HS2. Don't go away. Over the years I've met numerous Prime Ministers,
00:14 Transport Secretaries, Senior Ministers who've all said the same thing to me. HS2 is the
00:20 single most important intervention any government could make in seeking to bridge the North
00:26 South divide, in seeking to address regional inequalities. HS2, especially when fully
00:33 integrated with Northern Powerhouse Rail, in full, is the only meaningful way to share
00:38 opportunity around the country. It will, when it's done, bring life chances for people living
00:44 in our part of the world that are currently unthinkable. For generations to come, we were
00:49 told. It will be forever life changing. And incidentally, that's a view shared by most
00:55 of the industrialists, business chiefs, political leaders, for more than a decade. People in
01:02 our part of the country share that vision, share that hope. And that was the dream we
01:08 were sold, wasn't it? That was a promise that was made in 2009, with cross-party support
01:15 by the way, when it was clear that regional inequality was being driven, at least in part,
01:21 by the disparities in the quality and the availability of connective links between our
01:25 towns and cities in the North. But they had a plan, and they were getting on with it.
01:31 Great stuff. Now, before I come on to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refusing to answer the
01:36 question "Is HS2 going to Manchester or not?" let's just take stock of where we are. Because
01:42 first, the HS2 line to Leeds was quietly scrapped. Ministers on the broadcast round spouted the
01:50 line that "No, no, high speed trains will go to Leeds." But the con was, the trains
01:56 would come, but on Victorian track, the existing track, and so couldn't run at high speeds.
02:02 So HS2 to Leeds scrapped. Let's just say it how it is, shall we? They also, as part of
02:09 the integrated rail plan, diluted Northern Powerhouse Rail, without really bothering
02:14 to properly model the cost benefit of the investment, had it gone ahead in full. So
02:19 HS2 to Leeds scrapped, Northern Powerhouse Rail ruined, all got scrapped, and now it
02:25 appears HS2 to Manchester is going to be scrapped. Which incidentally also kills Northern Powerhouse
02:31 Rail, because that uses Manchester HS2 infrastructure. And in an exclusive interview this weekend
02:39 with the Yorkshire Post, Professor Andrew McNaughton, the man who designed HS2, said
02:44 that not completing HS2 to Leeds and Manchester was, his words, not mine, was "beyond comprehension."
02:52 Beyond comprehension because, again, his words, "those are the two most important parts."
02:59 And he's right. These great Northern hubs were the whole point of HS2 in the first place.
03:08 These two pieces of the puzzle, these make the whole thing make sense. That's where the
03:13 untapped potential is. It's where the value gets added. It's where life chances need improvement.
03:20 You know, this was the very thing that for 14 years had been touted as the answer to
03:25 addressing regional inequality, to closing the North-South divide, to sharing opportunity.
03:30 And now we're told we can't afford it. Well, let me tell you, Prime Minister, for any ordinary
03:36 person living here who doesn't have access to fast private jets, it isn't a case of we
03:42 can't afford it. For us, it's more a case of we can't afford not to have it. And I don't
03:48 think you can afford, Prime Minister, to break another promise to us, frankly. You say it's
03:52 unaffordable, Prime Minister, but that's no consolation to us. Where's the money gone?
03:59 Who's benefited thus far? I think we should be told. Because it isn't Yorkshire and it
04:05 isn't Lancashire. It must surely go down as the worst run project in history, plumping
04:10 up white-collar fat cats at the expense of the taxpayer. Costs are only spiring out of
04:16 control because from where I'm sitting, it was set up to fail in the first place. All
04:21 of the risk loaded on the developer, all of the risk loaded on the contractor, who understandably
04:27 have tiptoed forwards at a glacial pace afraid to make a mistake that could cost them millions,
04:33 and inflated prices owing to the insurance that they needed to take out. The government
04:38 could have owned all that risk, empowering those people on the tools to get on with the
04:42 job, whilst overseeing you could have put in place world-class project governance, deployed
04:48 by not politicians, but industry experts like Professor McNaughton. And now, sorry to be
04:56 emotional about this, but I care, now here we are with all of that connectivity benefit
05:00 evaporating before our very eyes. All of those lorries you were going to take off the road
05:05 cleaning up the air will now stay on the tarmac, chugging out diesel fumes. All of the domestic
05:10 flights that we were promised would come out of the sky will stay up in the clouds. And
05:15 here's the kicker, you're killing it in the very place it would have benefited the most,
05:20 the north, while you're in Manchester looking us in the eye and refusing to tell us whether
05:25 or not this thing that was going to improve our lives forever is coming at all. Now you
05:31 know Prime Minister that Northern Powerhouse Rail, in conjunction with HS2, are life-changing
05:39 projects for us. They bring multi-generational benefit for years to come. And I know you
05:46 believe in HS2, I know you believe in Northern Powerhouse Rail, and I know you believe the
05:52 people in the north deserve a fair chance at life. So please Prime Minister, stick to
05:58 the plan, deliver HS2 in full, deliver Northern Powerhouse Rail in full, and unlock the potential
06:05 in our part of the country, raising the bar for the whole of the UK.
06:12 [BLANK_AUDIO]