Manchester business leaders call decision to scrap HS2 economic 'self-sabotage'

Leaders from 30 companies that would be affected by the decision have written to the prime minister. Credit: HS2/PA Images

Businesses in Manchester have called Rishi Sunak's rumoured decision to cancel the HS2 link from London as an act of economic "self-sabotage".

The decision is expected to be confirmed by the prime minister in his speech, and he will instead pledge to reinvest around £36 billion of savings into road and rail schemes in the North and Midlands.

Leaders from 30 companies that would be affected by the decision have written to the prime minister and described the project as “fundamental to the economic future of the whole of the country”.

'Hours to save the North' - Protesters gather ahead of HS2 decision

  • Labour councillors gathered in central Manchester just yards from the Conservative Party conference to urge the prime minister to not cancel HS2

Some of those businesses include:

  • AO Arena

  • Manchester United Football Club

  • Manchester Airports Group (MAG)

  • The University of Manchester

  • Co-operatives UK

  • HOME

  • KraftHeinz

  • Crewe Alexandra Football Club

  • Crewe Town Board

The letter concludes: “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity which we cannot afford to throw away."

"Scrapping this scale of infrastructure investment would risk our standing as a globally competitive UK in the future, and adversely impact our communities for decades to come."

  • Defence Secretary Grant Shapps spoke to Good Morning Britain about the reported scrapping of HS2

The night before Rishi Sunak's speech at the Conservative Party conference, Labour councillors and the Mayor for Greater Manchester gathered in the city to plead with him to not go ahead with the decision.

Cut price alternative could revive HS2 plan to build line to Euston

Andy Burnham said: "It's no way to treat this city when you're in this city.

"It's just disrespectful to these councillors here who have actually stood behind the case for HS2, even when it was difficult and the issues were challenging.

"We worked for 15 years on a cross-party basis to try and get the plan right."

Sunak to promise to fix 'broken' politics as HS2 cuts overshadow conference

The prime minister will use his Conservative conference speech in Manchester on Wednesday to criticise 30 years of a “broken” system incentivising “the easy decision, not the right one”.

Instead, the prime minister has decided to allocate billions previously ringfenced for the project to other transport projects in the north, ITV News understands.

Read the letter to the prime minister in full:

Dear Prime Minister,

In deciding on the future of HS2 you hold the future prosperity of the North and Midlands in your hands.  As businesses with a deep interest in the long-term future of Manchester and the UK as a whole we urge you not to cancel HS2.  It would be a major act of economic self-sabotage and damage our international standing as a place to do business. We recognise the challenge of controlling costs, and like others from business organisations across the country stand ready to work with you to address this issue.  But we also firmly believe that this should not prevent us from making investments that are fundamental to the economic future of the whole of the country for future generations. This should not be seen as a choice between improved north-south connections and improved east-west connections.

HS2 should not be seen as a standalone infrastructure project.  It will unlock prosperity and growth across the cities in the North and Midlands. We know that this is what infrastructure investment does - it provides the scaffolding on which businesses invest, create jobs and generate opportunities for our communities. The strategic case for HS2 has always been centred on the opportunity for economic growth, regeneration and development beyond the impact of direct expenditure.

Creating additional capacity on the major rail arteries in and out of London is essential if we are to keep the economy moving.  Connections to London as a major global capital is essential for many of our businesses and for London the ability to access markets in the north and midlands is just as important.  Despite the blip of the pandemic demand for travel continues to grow.  We know there is no room for more rail freight and within a few years there will be no more passenger capacity with more delays, higher costs and less reliability becoming inevitable consequences of lack of investment.  This will damage investor confidence and the prospects of the towns and cities of the north and midlands.

This is not all about cities, or even the UK economy as a whole. You have said that you want to see better opportunities and investment in towns.  We are clear that creating greater capacity on the rail network will help these towns - freeing up commuter routes and creating more jobs, wealth and reasons for young people to stay and help build the northern economy.

We have been overwhelmed to see not just the level of business support up and down the country for HS2 as part of a network of investment in our infrastructure but also the level of public support in the recent weeks. People know costs need to be controlled, and there is the need for tight scrutiny of the programme, but we also all recognise the need to build for the future success of our towns, cities and communities. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity which we cannot afford to throw away. Scrapping this scale of infrastructure investment would risk our standing as a globally competitive UK in the future, and adversely impact our communities for decades to come.

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