Andy Street is understood to have called on the Prime Minister to strip HS2 Ltd of control of the scheme. Photo: OLI SCARFF/AFP
The Conservative mayor of the West Midlands has made a last-ditch attempt to save the northern part of HS2 by securing private funding to complete the troubled project.
Andy Street, the former boss of John Lewis, is believed to have called for it . Rishi Sunak should strip government body HS2 Ltd of control of the multi-billion pound scheme and instead put it in the hands of a development corporation.
Sources pointed to the example of the original Channel Tunnel project, which was built by a consortium of private firms, and London's Elizabeth Line, which received cash contributions from some of the capital's major businesses and was partly financed by additional commercial rates.
At meetings on Tuesday, Street sought to drum up support for his proposal among businesses attending the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.
Cement giant Cemex, industrial giant Siemens, accountancy firm EY and Supposedly The engineering and consulting company Arup is involved.
Other businesses are reported to include engineering firms Arcadis and Mace, as well as Manchester-based property company Bruntwood.
It came just hours before Mr Sunak was due to give his closing address speech at a conference on Wednesday morning, and the Prime Minister has reportedly been appointed to announce he is cutting the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2.
He is said to be alarmed by the rising costs of the troubled project, from an initially mooted budget of £30 billion to potentially more than £100 billion, but faces opposition from senior Tory figures, including three former prime ministers.
Mr Street warned that the northern section of the line was essential to unlocking the full economic benefits of HS2 in the regions and that abandoning it would be a serious blow to investor confidence in the UK .
He even suggested he might resign over the issue, refusing to rule out the possibility during a press conference.
Making his final public address to Mr Sunak on Tuesday, he said: «I think they [the government] are about to make an incredible political gaffe.
«Every Labor MP in the North will be lining up tomorrow to say… The Tories have come to Manchester to pounce on the North.
«Is this really what we want to offer our opponents, or is there no better answer?»
Mr Street told a conference event that solutions he and the companies are considering include raising private funding to completion of the route, and in some cases even for the construction of stations.
Lord O'Neill, the former Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, also warned that abandoning HS2 would damage the UK's investment reputation on the world stage.
He said: «The economics of HS2 were never good… I wasn't I am convinced of this.» about it when [the budget] was £35 billion.
“At the same time, to cancel it willy-nilly without any real transparency — why would any investor or any company providing support services construction, ever take any investment project seriously again?
Only building a rail line from Euston to Birmingham would «destroy any rationale» for HS2's existence, he said.
Sir Jacob Rees- Mogg led supporters in welcoming the decision to abandon the northern link of HS2. Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images Europe
Meanwhile, Grant Shapps, the defense secretary, suggested billions of HS2 money would be much better spent elsewhere and hinted that Mr Sunak would unveil a series of new transport projects that would «significantly» speed up improvements in people's lives.
< p>Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, also led MPs in welcoming the decision to abandon the northern link of HS2, telling Sky News it would be “sensible” to scrap the project.
For now the government has only formally committed to funding the first phase of HS2, running from London Euston to Birmingham and on to Crewe.
However, the company has made no such commitment to a move to Manchester and Mr Sunak is now understood to favor an alternative package of transport improvements to improve east-west links in the north.
However, Mr Street did it. argues that the northern part of HS2 is needed to unlock the full economic benefits of the scheme, as it will make it much easier to travel between the Midlands and northern cities rather than to and from London.
For example, train times between Birmingham and Manchester will be cut from one hour 26 minutes to just 41 minutes, and the time between Birmingham and Leeds will decrease from one hour 52 minutes to 49 minutes.
Despite this, the potential economic benefits of HS2 remain highly controversial: one official estimate is that the project will only contribute £1.10 to the economy for every £1 spent.
On Tuesday evening a government spokesman said: “The HS2 project is already on track.” The work with shovels in the ground is in full swing, and we remain focused on making it happen.”
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