A number of the major district and county councils along the route of the proposed High-Speed Two (HS2) rail line are being investigated by the Audit Commission.
There are reports this morning that a number of the major district and county councils along the route of the proposed High-Speed Two (HS2) rail line are being investigated by the Audit Commission for the misuse of public money, described by Tory MP for Weaver Vale, Graham Evans, as a “disgraceful misuse of public money”.
According to an article in the Bucks Herald in August, more than £250,000 of taxpayers’ money has been spent by councils along the route on a fund to fight HS2.
The councils, including Buckinghamshire County Council and Aylesbury Vale District Council, are reported to all belong to 51m – a group of 15 Tory run councils who are against the project.
This sum, however, may be substantially lower than the actual figures that have been spent, today’s Liverpool Daily Echo reporting that £1 million may have been spent. It has also been suggested that considerably more councils are currently being investigated by the Audit Commission.
If this is true, this could leave these councils in a heap of trouble. Not only are they spending this money in a time of major council cutbacks, but they are spending the money in direct opposition to a project that has full support at the top levels of government.
Tory-run councils in the Home Counties are funnelling money to directly oppose a project that was in the Conservative Party manifesto (p. 23, pdf), and has had continued support from transport secretary Philip Hammond, chancellor George Osborne and the prime minister himself, David Cameron telling Parliament in June:
“I believe that if we are really serious about rebalancing our economy and ensuring that we get growth across the country, and not just in the south-east, the time for high-speed rail has come. That is why it has my strong support.”
There has already been some dissent in the ranks of the Conservative party on this matter, with backbencher Andrea Leadsom (Con, South Northamptonshire) and Welsh secretary Cheryl Gillan (Con, Chesham & Amersham) – whose constituencies lie along the proposed route – leading the charge.
After the uprising from the Home Counties about the proposed changes to planning legislation, Tory-run councils misbehaving over another proposed piece of legislation will not be a further irritant to the government.
32 Responses to “Audit Commission to investigate anti-HS2 Tory councils”
M. Wahlberg
Yesterday, in his submission to the Transport Select Committee, Philip Hammond (S of S for Transport) confirmed that HS2 will be “a rich man’s toy”. He said this as part of his justification for spending around £17 BILLION + on the new train line that he wants between Birmingham and London. He does not mind that it will be a “rich man’s toy”. Despite all the hand wringing spin about the current HS2 project having a ‘transformational effect’ on the whole country – solving the north-south divide at a stroke – his comments to the TSC clear the air. HS2 is pivotally about turning Birmingham into another London airport now that the expansion of Heathrow has been curtailed. He has said it often but not everyone has been listening to that bit.
Not only will taxpayers be subsidising the capital costs of this “rich man’s toy” (£1,000+ from each family wherever they live and whatever the condition of their own transport services), but there will be continuing annual subsidies for the rich men to use this line too. This is intended to be coupled with a REDUCTION in the subsidies in all other services in part to make room for the massive subsidy that HS2 will need. Now, put together the most profitable fares being streamed onto HS2, and the reduction of subsidies on the competing classic lines, and you will see why cities ‘off the line’ – Coventry, Black Country, Northampton, Leicester etc increasingly realise that HS2 will mean WORSE services for them coupled with the high probability that jobs from their areas will be sucked towards the enterprise zones and greenfield sites intended to be based around the few HS2 stations. Wake up Labour – where is the progressive agenda in this? There IS an alternative! And heaven help us if he gets to spend the £32 Billion+ on extending this “rich man’s toy” up to Manchester airport, East Midland’s airport and Leeds airport. We all want investment for jobs and greater equity between the regions and London – but HS2 will not deliver this. Yes to investing in, speeding up and modernising rail for all regions, but no to the “rich man’s toy” HS2 project.
Peter Davidson
@M.Wahlberg: “Yesterday, in his submission to the Transport Select Committee, Philip Hammond (S of S for Transport) confirmed that HS2 will be “a rich man’s toy”.”
He didn’t actually say that in the terms you infer but hey, why let a little thing called proper context get in the way of good catchphrase? Mr. Hammond simply confirmed what we knew already – that all railways are generally patronised by upper income quintiles of any given population. Nothing new there then?
It creates good copy to make utterly bogus claims, ten/fifteen years in advance of the first train services, implying that the new high speed line will be the exclusive preserve of rich business account fuelled executives, whizzing around Europe whilst hard working ordinary taxpayers fund their excesses with our hard earned taxes – of course this notion is a misleading mirage, constructed to bamboozle public opinion and apply pressure on decision makers.
My postcode is SK9 7** and when phase 2 of HS2 is built the line will run perhaps 3km from my house yet I strongly support HS2 (and HS3,4&5 quickly thereafter) because it will deliver massive benefits for UK plc – perhaps you could share your postcode, @M.Wahlberg, which might go some way to explaining your implacable opposition to this long overdue project bringing the UK’s rail infrastructure into the 21st century?