Daily Junction.mobi portalNews · February 20, 2024 · Daily Junction Editorial Team · 11 min
The UK government's October 2023 decision to cancel HS2's northern leg from Birmingham to Manchester has reshaped Britain's transport future. With £36 billion redirected to regional projects, the move has sparked fierce debate about levelling up, capacity constraints, and whether conventional rail upgrades can deliver what HS2 promised.
The cancellation of HS2 Phase Two—the high-speed rail line from Birmingham to Manchester—represents one of the most significant reversals in UK infrastructure policy in decades. Announced by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak at the Conservative Party conference in October 2023, the decision scrapped the northern leg of Britain's flagship transport project, redirecting £36 billion to a package of road and rail improvements branded Network North. The move has reshaped the UK's transport future, sparked fury in northern cities, and reignited debate about whether Britain can deliver major infrastructure projects or whether short-term political pressures will always derail long-term planning.
HS2 was conceived in 2009 as a transformational project to increase rail capacity, connect Britain's major cities, and rebalance the economy away from London. The original vision included a Y-shaped network: London to Birmingham, then splitting to Manchester in the west and Leeds in the east. By 2024, only the London to Birmingham section remains, and even that has been scaled back, with trains terminating at Old Oak Common in west London rather than Euston. What was supposed to be Britain's answer to France's TGV or Japan's Shinkansen has become a truncated, over-budget project that critics say exemplifies the UK's inability to build infrastructure at scale.
The cancellation was not entirely unexpected. HS2 had faced mounting criticism over costs, environmental impact, and delivery delays. The eastern leg to Leeds was scrapped in November 2021, and by 2023, rumours swirled that the northern leg to Manchester would follow. Sunak's announcement at the October 2023 Conservative conference confirmed the worst fears of HS2 supporters.
The government's justification rested on three pillars:
1. Spiralling costs: HS2's budget had ballooned from £37.5 billion in 2013 (in 2011 prices) to over £100 billion by 2023 (in current prices). The National Audit Office warned that Phase Two alone could cost £40-50 billion, with significant risk of further overruns. Sunak argued that the project was unaffordable and that the same money could deliver more tangible benefits elsewhere.
2. Changed circumstances: The Prime Minister claimed that post-pandemic working patterns—particularly the rise of remote work—had reduced the need for high-speed intercity rail. Business travel had not recovered to pre-COVID levels, and demand forecasts underpinning HS2's business case looked optimistic.
3. Better alternatives: The government argued that conventional rail upgrades, road improvements, and local transport schemes would deliver faster, more visible benefits to more communities than a single high-speed line serving a handful of cities.
Critics rejected all three arguments. On costs, they pointed out that much of the increase was due to earlier government decisions—delaying the project, changing the route, and imposing design requirements that inflated expenses. On demand, they noted that the West Coast Main Line was already at capacity, and that HS2 was primarily about freeing up space for commuter and freight trains, not just speeding up intercity journeys. On alternatives, they argued that Network North was largely repackaged existing commitments and would not address the fundamental capacity constraints that HS2 was designed to solve.
HS2 Phase Two was supposed to extend the high-speed line from Birmingham to Manchester via Crewe, with a branch to the East Midlands and South Yorkshire (the eastern leg to Leeds was cancelled in 2021). The northern leg would have:
The cancellation means these benefits will not materialise. The West Coast Main Line will remain congested, limiting growth in commuter and freight services. Journey times between northern cities will not improve significantly. And the economic case for HS2—which relied on the network effect of connecting multiple cities—collapses when only the London to Birmingham section is built.
To soften the blow, the government announced Network North, a £36 billion package of transport improvements across northern England and the Midlands. The headline projects include:
On paper, Network North sounds impressive. The government argued it would deliver benefits faster and to more communities than HS2. However, scrutiny revealed significant problems:
1. Many projects were already planned: Analysis by Transport for the North and the Institute for Government found that at least £20 billion of Network North funding was for schemes already in the pipeline, some of which had been announced multiple times. The electrification of the North Wales Main Line, for example, had been promised since 2012.
2. Funding is not guaranteed: Unlike HS2, which had statutory funding, Network North projects are subject to future spending reviews. There is no legal commitment to deliver them, and history suggests that regional transport schemes are often delayed or cancelled when budgets tighten.
3. It does not solve capacity constraints: Road improvements and local rail upgrades do not address the fundamental problem HS2 was designed to solve: the West Coast Main Line is full. Without new capacity, intercity, commuter, and freight services will continue to compete for limited space, constraining growth.
4. The economic case is weaker: HS2's business case relied on agglomeration effects—bringing cities closer together to enable knowledge sharing, labour mobility, and productivity gains. Network North, by contrast, is a collection of disconnected projects with lower individual returns.
The cancellation provoked fury in Manchester and across the North. Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham called it "a betrayal of the North" and accused the government of breaking promises made over more than a decade. Leaders of northern cities argued that the decision confirmed what many suspected: that levelling up was a slogan, not a serious policy, and that London and the South East would always be prioritised.
The reaction was not limited to politicians. Business groups, including the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, warned that the cancellation would damage investor confidence and undermine efforts to rebalance the economy. The construction industry lamented the loss of jobs and skills, with thousands of workers facing redundancy.
Even some Conservative MPs in northern constituencies criticised the decision. The "Red Wall" seats that delivered Boris Johnson's 2019 majority had been promised transformational infrastructure investment. Cancelling HS2 Phase Two looked like abandoning that promise.
However, not everyone opposed the cancellation. Some economists and transport experts had long questioned HS2's business case, arguing that the benefits were overstated and that the money could be better spent on regional transport, housing, or other priorities. Environmental campaigners, while divided, included voices relieved that the destruction of ancient woodlands and habitats would be limited.
The HS2 saga is part of a broader pattern of UK infrastructure failure. Major projects routinely overrun on cost and time, are scaled back or cancelled, and fail to deliver promised benefits. Crossrail (the Elizabeth Line) opened years late and billions over budget. The third runway at Heathrow has been debated for decades without resolution. Nuclear power stations face repeated delays. The UK's infrastructure spending as a share of GDP lags behind comparable countries.
Several factors explain this pattern:
1. Short-term political cycles: Infrastructure projects take decades to plan and deliver, but political incentives operate on four- or five-year cycles. Governments prioritise quick wins over long-term investments, and opposition parties attack projects to score points, creating uncertainty that inflates costs.
2. Weak governance and delivery: The UK lacks the institutional capacity to deliver major projects efficiently. Frequent changes to scope, design, and management create delays and cost overruns. The National Audit Office has repeatedly criticised HS2 for poor project management and optimism bias in cost estimates.
3. Inadequate funding mechanisms: Unlike countries with dedicated infrastructure funds or long-term funding commitments, UK projects are subject to stop-start funding through spending reviews. This creates uncertainty, delays procurement, and increases costs.
4. Public opposition and planning delays: The UK's planning system gives extensive rights to object, leading to lengthy inquiries and judicial reviews. HS2 faced over 1,000 petitions and multiple legal challenges, delaying construction and inflating costs.
5. Lack of political consensus: Major infrastructure requires cross-party support to survive changes of government. HS2 had initial cross-party backing, but this eroded as costs rose and political priorities shifted. The lack of consensus made it vulnerable to cancellation.
HS2 Phase One from London to Birmingham remains under construction, though even this is not guaranteed to be delivered as originally planned. The London terminus has been downgraded from Euston to Old Oak Common, requiring passengers to change trains to reach central London. The government has said that extending HS2 to Euston will depend on private funding, but no credible plan has emerged.
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