HS2 dubbed an ‘expensive vanity project’

The Taxpayers’ Alliance has claimed that the HS2 project is an ‘expensive vanity project which must be scrapped’ in its new report.

The project, which will link London, Birmingham, the East Midlands, Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester, is predicted to overwhelmingly exceed its budget, and is likely to reach £90 billion, the Alliance report.

The report, entitled ‘Rich man’s toy: The case for scrapping HS2’, claims that the business case is flawed and hugely overstates the case for HS2, demand is uncertain, delivery is unexpected to be completed on time, and greater value can be sought in other projects.

Jonathan Isaby, chief executive of the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: "HS2 is a wasteful vanity project which is unlikely to be completed on schedule and will cost taxpayers a fortune.

“The new Prime Minister should now be pursuing bold and imaginative policies to boost economic growth and increase productivity – and that positive approach must include scrapping HS2, which has cost taxpayers far too much already. Ministers should instead be embarking on more worthwhile infrastructure projects that will cost less and deliver far better value."

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