HS2 high speed rail costs: Gillan, Campbell and Jowell
The HS2 high speed rail line has an "appalling" business case, will cost each household £3,000 and has "blown its budget" three times, said a former Conservative cabinet member.
Cheryl Gillan, whose constituency would be crossed by the new line, said there is a "better way of spending £50bn to 80bn" than the estimated cost of the scheme from London to the Midlands and northern England.
She debated with Sir Menzies Campbell, who reckoned the country could "simply freeze up" without "major projects of this kind", while Tessa Jowell argued the "economic case is very strong, the capacity case is very strong".
Their Daily Politics debate followed a clip of Chancellor George Osborne on the Andrew Marr show.
02 Sep 2013
- From the section UK Politics