Northern Powerhouse Partnership says study would ensure region is properly heard amid fears HS2 may be scrapped

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

George Osborne’s northern powerhouse thinktank is undertaking its own pro-HS2 review amid concern that the £55.6bn project may be doomed under Boris Johnson’s premiership.

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership (NPP) said its study would make sure the region is properly heard ahead of the government’s own “go or no go” review into the high-speed rail line.

The government’s review is being jointly written by a leading critic of HS2, prompting concern among businesses, unions and northern leaders who have called on Johnson to commit as soon as possible to the new line between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

Timeline HS2 - over-budget and behind schedule Show Hide High Speed Two Ltd is set up by the Labour government to examine possibilities for increasing high-speed rail capacity in the UK. The project is split into two phases - London to Birmingham forms phase one, with phase two extending the route to Manchester and Leeds. The transport secretary, Conservative Justine Greening, announces the decision to build HS2. A judicial review is called into the HS2 decision. Lord Justice Ouseley upholds one of the 10 grounds for complaint about HS2 in the judicial review – the claim that the government had acted unfairly and unlawfully when consulting on compensation for homeowners affected by the route. The Conservative prime minister, David Cameron, describes the project as "absolutely vital" as MPs approve funding. The high-speed rail (London-West Midlands) bill is formally introduced in parliament. After freedom of information requests, a 2012 Department for Transport viability report into HS2 is released, revealing the department considered it unaffordable. Allan Cook replaces Sir Terry Morgan as chair of HS2, after the latter fails to deliver the opening of the Crossrail project in London on schedule. A report from the New Economics Foundation suggests HS2 will deliver the most benefit to London, and exacerbate regional inequality. A fresh government review begins into HS2 into whether the scheme should be approved, amended or scrapped entirely. The Conservative transport secretary, Grant Shapps, announces that full HS2 services between London and Birmingham will be delayed by up to five years to 2031, and that the final completion of the northern section of the high-speed rail network would likely be delayed by seven years until 2040. He also confirmed the budget had escalated from the official £56bn at 2015 prices to up to £88bn at today’s prices. After a period of review, prime minister Boris Johnson announces that HS2 will go ahead, alongside a package of measures aimed at improving bus and cycling links outside of London.

Henri Murison, the director of the NPP, said: “The northern powerhouse is of critical importance to the future of UK prosperity, and without improving connectivity it will be difficult to address the underlying reasons for our lower productivity.

“In the coming weeks, this group of distinguished leaders and experts from across the north will be addressing the key evidence to ensure that the importance of economic rebalancing is fully understood by those undertaking the Oakervee review.”

Osborne has chaired the NPP since he was dismissed as chancellor when Theresa May took over as prime minister in July 2016. The thinktank said its review would “offer a northern perspective” and “make bold and realistic proposals” to support its view that HS2 and a new east-to-west high-speed rail line are crucial to rebalance the UK’s economy.

The NPP report will be overseen by a cross-party panel of politicians including the Conservative MP Kevin Hollinrake and Nick Forbes, the Labour leader of Newcastle city council, both of whom are vocal supporters of HS2. The panel will include leading business figures such as Sir Howard Bernstein, the senior civil servant credited with leading Manchester’s reinvention.

The government’s review will examine whether the HS2 scheme should be approved, amended or scrapped entirely. It is expected to be completed before the Brexit deadline in October.

The review is led by Douglas Oakervee, a retired engineer who briefly chaired HS2 Ltd and worked with Johnson when he was London mayor. His deputy, Lord Berkeley, a railway expert and Labour peer, is a critic of the project who has repeatedly challenged the Department for Transport’s (DfT) cost figures and warned that budgets were spiralling out of control.

A review of the scheme was promised by Johnson in his campaign to become Conservative leader. The prime minister has said he is in favour of large infrastructure projects, and has backed the east-to-west Northern Powerhouse Rail, although opposition to HS2 has been widespread among the Tory grassroots.

Work has already begun on the first segment of the HS2 line, between London and Birmingham, which is due to open at the end of 2026. The second phase to Leeds and Manchester is scheduled for completion by 2033. The first trains to test the line are due in 2024.