The Green Party now supports building HS2 in full
Members of the Green Party of England and Wales have forced a reversal of their party’s position on HS2. At the party’s autumn conference in Manchester, party members endorsed a motion entitled ‘Green rail strategy for the Midlands and the North’, which explicitly called for HS2 to be funded and completed in full.
The motion sees the Green Party’s official policy on HS2 reversed. Prior to the conference, the party had opposed the construction of HS2, with a number of high profile Green Party figures being outspoken on the issue.
The former Green Party leader and member of the House of Lords Natalie Bennett was among those to speak against the motion at the conference. In the debate, she described HS2 as a ‘chaotic mess’ and ‘an enormous gravy train’.
The Green Party now supports building the entirety of HS2, including the legs to Manchester and Leeds were cancelled by Rishi Sunak’s government.
The motion was passed with 345 members voting in favour and 318 against.
Speaking following the passing of the motion, the Green Party’s co-leader Carla Denyer said: “The Green Party has long supported the principle of a new north-south high-speed rail line but had serious concerns about the specific route of HS2 and the environmental impacts of this route.
“However, this first phase of HS2 between London and Birmingham is well under way and most of the environmental impacts of construction are already baked in. So this is a pragmatic decision by the Green Party. It moves us on.
“Crucially, we have also acknowledged that the northern leg of HS2 was always the most important in terms of tackling capacity issues on our railways as well as addressing regional inequalities. So the line must be completed in full.
“We also say loud and clear that our railways have to be built right – for habitats and wildlife, for local transport users, for affected neighbours and for government coffers. Greens will not support blank cheques or offer uncritical endorsement.
“We need to move at great speed to shift travel away from cars and flights to public transport. HS2, in full, can play an important role in achieving this shift.”
The motion was proposed by members of Greens4HS2. Similar motions were proposed at previous conferences but fell off the agenda as a result of running out of time.
Chris Jarvis is head of strategy and development at Left Foot Forward
This article is jointly published with Bright Green
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