Another day, another promise that a government project will be in time and on budget. Yesterday it was universal credit, today it’s High Speed Rail, with a letter from the construction companies behind the project in the Telegraph. The letter, signed by chief executives and chairmen of Arup Group, Atkins UK, Balfour Beatty, Kier Group, Laing O’Rourke, Moot MacDonald Group and Skanska UK, dismisses ‘artificially inflated figures’ on the project’s cost. It says:
‘We gladly accept the challenge of completing Phase One of HS2 on schedule – and for less than the Government’s target of £17.16 billion.
‘We applaud the Government’s support for investment in infrastructure and in particular HS2, which addresses a looming capacity crunch on rail and road networks.’
Unfortunately, Tory MPs are becoming less and less enthusiastic about applauding the government’s support for HS2. I hear a steady stream of backbenchers have been in to see George Osborne’s PPS Amber Rudd and treasury minister Sajid Javid, complaining about the cost of the project, and pressing for a U-turn.
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