Tory MP says Government must admit HS2 will never reach Yorkshire

Alec Shelbrooke, MP for Elmet and Rothwell, told the House of Commons that plans to extend the line to Leeds have clearly been scrapped, adding: “Mrs Miggins in the Dog and Duck knows it’s not going to happen.”

The Government appeared to scale back plans for the high-speed line to save money in November 2021, as part of the Integrated Rail Plan (IRP), and said the eastern leg would stop at East Midlands Parkway.

But several Ministers have since promised that HS2 services will eventually reach Leeds and a £100m study will determine whether a new line needs to be built, or upgrades should just be made to the existing track.

The Yorkshire Post understands the study has been delayed because the Treasury has questioned the cost, but it will be launched after Jeremy Hunt’s Spring Budget.

Mr Shelbrooke said: “My constituents and I are sick to death of waiting for what is inevitable.

“But there are constituents of mine who have been suffering for a decade with the preserved land, which has been kept aside. It’s ruined them being able to sell their houses, going through the compensation schemes.

“It’s not going to happen – Mrs Miggins in the Dog and Duck knows it’s not going to happen.

“So can I ask the minister, right now, to stand at the despatch box, don’t talk to me about the Integrated Rail Plan – I’ve been hearing that cobblers for three years – tell me now that people are going to get their land released so that their lives can stop being blighted in my constituency, which has gone on for over a decade?”

Rail minister Huw Merriman said the long-awaited HS2 study will be launched in the coming weeks.

“That will provide the answers in terms of how it’s possible to get HS2 trains up to Leeds and until that time the safeguarding will remain in place,” he said.

“I’m very keen that we actually get those answers so we either find a solution to get HS2 trains up to Leeds. Again, that will be down to the study and responses back to that study.”

The study, known as the Leeds Area Study, is expected to take 18 months to two years to complete.

There are growing concerns about the cost of the project, which is expected to reach £71bn, even if services never reach Leeds.

But last week the Government announced the Birmingham to Crewe leg of HS2 will be delayed by two years, to cut costs.

Speaking in October, Transport Secretary Mark Harper said Phase 1 of HS2, which will link the West Midlands and London, “remains within the budget and schedule”. It is expected to cost up to £44.6bn and open between 2034 and 2041.

Phase 2a, linking West Midlands to Crewe, is due to be delivered between 2030 and 2034, and cost up to £7bn. While Phase 2b, which will run from Crewe to Manchester, is expected to cost up to £22bn and open between 2035 to 2041.