‘Blue Wall’ Tories urge Boris Johnson not to cut HS2’s midlands rail link

Conservatives in Boris Johnson's new 'blue wall' are urging the prime minister not to cut HS2's link to their region amid concern the project could be the victim of cost-cutting.

MPs and councils are concerned that the government's infrastructure commission could recommend that the new line should not serve the east midlands after all, despite the government saying it wants to build the network in full.

In comes as a new poll finds that just one in five people in the north and the midlands think the government is keeping its promise to "level up" their regions.

The survey, by Opinium, found just 20 per cent of voters in the regions believe the government is doing enough. A further seven in 10 people in the regions think the Covid-19 pandemic has stalled government investment.

Darren Henry, Conservative MP for Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire, said the plans for the line – from Birmingham, through the East Midlands and South Yorkshire to Leeds – would create thousands of jobs and should go ahead in full.

Arguing that "communities like Broxtowe have historically been underfunded", he warned: "Now is the time for the Government to restore public confidence in levelling up by committing to the Eastern Leg of HS2.

"In the East Midlands, the new hub station at Toton will create thousands of highly-skilled jobs, is sparking a huge improvement in local transport links and will establish the region as a centre for innovation and renewable energy generation," the MP said.

"It will provide green, carbon-neutral travel for the next century. It must go ahead, as the Prime Minister and numerous other Cabinet Ministers have repeatedly promised.”

While the government has said it will go ahead with HS2, it is awaiting the result of a study by the National Infrastructure Commission into how best to proceed with the project's "eastern leg".

The Independent understands that the commission is examining proposals to de-scope the east midlands leg and instead simply divert trains onto existing lines - with none of the capacity or speed benefits the full project would bring.

The commission is under pressure to look for ways to cut costs from the project, whose projected price tag has increased since its inception to over £80 billion.

But cutting the east midlands link would undermine plans such as the Midlands rail engine, a blueprint to improve local services services across the region that relies on HS2. It would also make it harder to build Northern Powerhouse Rail, which uses the eastern leg of the planned new network.

Conservative peer Lord McLoughlin, a former Transport Secretary who was until last year MP for Derbyshire Dales, said: “It is crystal clear that the Eastern Leg of HS2 must go ahead in full. Any further delay will undermine the economic future of the East Midlands, at a time when we need to be decisive and boost business confidence. In particular, the new HS2 East Midlands Hub at Toton is a hugely exciting opportunity for development, and one that we cannot pass by. If Government is going to successfully level up, it must give this project the green light.”

"The National Infrastructure Commission is due to imminently publish its Rail Needs Assessment, a series of recommendations to Government regarding how it can optimise the delivery of HS2’s Eastern Leg. Government’s Integrated Rail Plan, setting out how the Eastern Leg will be delivered, is due out before the end of the year."