The Green Party has responded to a House of Lords report on HS2. The report, published today, says that the Government has failed to make a convincing case as to why the £50bn project is needed.
Rupert Read, transport spokesperson for the Green Party, said:
“This House of Lords report ought to be the final nail in the coffin for HS2. It vindicates what the Green Party has been saying for the last 3 years: that the arguments in favour of HS2 are pitifully weak. HS2 would entrench the UK’s dependence upon London, not challenge it; it would entrench and encourage long-distance commuting habits that simply cannot be sustained; and there are far better alternatives to it, in value-for-money terms, in order to improve capacity.”
“The reality is that HS2 is a truly terrible way to invest public money. The Green Party is the party of public transport: we know how that same money could be used far better: to upgrade rail lines across the country, to re-open swiftly a number of closed lines, and to bring in smart cards, an integrated ticketing system and contactless payment schemes across the country.”
ENDS