Business leaders call for HS2 to go ahead

Letters to national newspapers today highlight the importance of investing in infrastructure and warn that Britain is lagging behind.

Transport Secretary Justine Greening had been expected to make an announcement before Christmas on whether the £17bn High Speed 2 (HS2) scheme would go ahead but the decision was delayed until the new year.

More than 100 business leaders have signed a letter to the Daily Telegraph saying “We call on the government to approve plans for HS2 and to push ahead with its construction as soon as possible”.

The Daily Telegraph letter from business leaders states: “As business leaders and job-creators, we recognise that Britain’s poor infrastructure is a major obstacle to our long-term growth. The United Kingdom’s infrastructure has fallen behind that of competing countries over the past decade. The World Economic Forum has ranked the United Kingdom a mediocre 28th for “quality of overall infrastructure” and 19th for our railroads. Between 2000 and 2007 the United Kingdom was the lowest investor in infrastructure of all the OECD countries. The United Kingdom has a massive infrastructure deficit, estimated at £3,500 billion over the next decade, lagging significantly behind our closest trade partners in northern Europe, such as France and Germany. This places British business at a competitive disadvantage.”

The signatories come from a wide range of business interests. From construction are, among others: Simon Carr of Henry Boot, Naomi Connell of VolkerWessels, Paul Cook of Galliford Try, Chris Webster of Miller Construction and John Wood of Tolent Construction.

In a letter to the Guardian the leaders of TSSA, RMT, Unite and Aslef unions as well as the TUC say that the creation of one million long-term British jobs outside the southeast rely on the building of HS2.

Writing to the Financial Times, a group of economists say: "Economic studies show that effective modes of transport, including high-speed rail, enable entrepreneurs to get their goods and services to market in a secure and timely manner and facilitate the movement of workers to the most suitable jobs."

The HS2 project is opposed by many who live near the proposed route, presenting a political challenge for the government, and by those who reckon the money would be better spent on other things.

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