is seeing unprecedented investment already because of HS2 before it even arrives. In Crewe, a key stop along the way, we are seeing the same thing. MPs from towns surrounding Birmingham and Manchester will tell you the difference it is making.
Is HS2 the only or best way to do this? For some people, the answer to that question might be no. But that doesn’t mean the answer to whether or not to scrap it should be yes. The 2019 election victory showed the resounding will of the North and the Midlands for action. Should we really go back to the drawing board? Spend another 15 years wrangling over what the alternative is and then see a plethora of smaller projects stuck in the same planning and environmental gridlock that has dragged down and pushed up the costs of HS2? Do we think we won’t see overspends and delays on other projects just as we have seen with HS2?
We have got to do more to deliver HS2 in a cost-effective way. But that is true of all our infrastructure. The problems with our ability to deliver infrastructure are not going to disappear because we build three smaller connections instead of one big one. I say to the Government, do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Do not leave the UK business community and, in fact, the world business community, doubting whether we can ever deliver on big and bold projects, or whether we can be a trusted investment partner.Stay on track and deliver HS2 to