High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill

The Secretary of State has just said that the proposed High Speed Rail (Preparation) Bill paves t...

I shall come on to explain, if I may make a bit of progress, the way in which we shall link up to...

Is the Secretary of State aware that if there is to be a tangible economic benefit to my constitu...

I know that my hon. Friend is concerned, as I am, to make sure that there are sufficient connecti...

rose—

I met a group of Members from—well, I was going to say Staffordshire—I met two Members from Stoke...

I thank the Secretary of State for giving way and for his generous offer of coming to visit and s...

I met the hon. Gentleman yesterday along with two of his colleagues, and I can assure him that th...

The last time I looked, York, Manchester, Birmingham and London were in England. HS2 was clearly ...

I am sorry the hon. Gentleman feels that way, because I believe there will be advantages to Wales...

The Minister talks of expansion further up to Scotland. When? Given the remarks about no Barnett ...

I announced last October the work that was already being commissioned by HS2 to take the link up ...

I suspect that even the Scottish National party does not expect the line to reach the constituenc...

This century?

I would like to believe that it will not be next century and that my constituents will be able to...

The hon. Gentleman makes a fair point. As I announced last October, I have asked HS2 to start doi...

Is not Lille in the north of France an excellent example of the benefits that high speed can brin...

Indeed, and I will say a little more about Lille shortly. I think my hon. Friend may have a copy ...

rose—

Mr Speaker, I know that a great number of Members want to speak in the debate and I will give way...

I apologise to the Secretary of State for coming in late and I appreciate the fact that he has gi...

I will come on to say something about compensation later in my speech. I think Coventry will get ...

The Secretary of State is very kind to give way. My point is that not only is the route of HS2 en...

I find the hon. Lady’s position on the issue strange. I should have thought that the Green party ...

rose—

I am not sure I can extend the service to Northern Ireland.

And I have no idea how the Minister would extend it to Northern Ireland, but Northern Ireland doe...

I am more than happy to do that and I shall say more about that later. Crossrail has set a good e...

My right hon. Friend mentioned his rail journey to Canterbury. I encourage him to take a differen...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, who makes that point from vast experience. It is worth rememberi...

Will the Secretary of State give way?

I will not be in the position that you are in, Mr Speaker, of having actually counted the number ...

My right hon. Friend is absolutely right that all major infrastructure projects are controversial...

Probably in the same place. [Laughter.]

Indeed, but it would be very difficult to get to, and it would not have benefited from the improv...

Has the Secretary of State had an opportunity to look at the financial results released by Virgin...

No, it sounds like a railway that is providing the services that all colleagues want to see. As I...

My right hon. Friend can rest assured that, for a change, I will not be using this opportunity as...

Yes, indeed. That is one of the points that will become very apparent with the investment program...

I would like to add a thought on the capacity question. Will the Secretary of State confirm that ...

Indeed, and I am grateful to my hon. Friend. Basically, 15 years ago there were about 750 million...

rose—

rose—

Now, there is a choice. As a bit of a conservative, I will go with seniority, if my hon. Friend t...

Will my right hon. Friend accept that, in relation to my constituency, this project goes from top...

To my hon. Friend’s constituents I say this: I understand that a big piece of infrastructure of t...

In relation to passenger numbers, my right hon. Friend will know the old aphorism that if one sub...

One of the things we are trying to do is drive out some of the subsidy in the railways to make it...

rose—

I did say that I would not give way any more, but I shall give way to my hon. Friend.

My right hon. Friend knows, as does the rest of the House, that much of that high-speed European ...

We will be looking at that. I will say a bit more about costs a little later, if my hon. Friend w...

On the point about this legislation being the paving Bill and agreeing the expenditure before the...

I am about to make exactly that point; obviously, somebody else has an advance copy of my speech....

My right hon. Friend is being generous with his time. From the moment the train line was announce...

I assure my hon. Friend that, if he has a little patience, I will say something about that exact ...

Will the Secretary of State publish the receipts?

I will look at the detail of that. I am certainly determined that Parliament should be kept well ...

At Prime Minister’s questions this afternoon, I asked the Prime Minister why the Government were ...

I heard the hon. Gentleman’s question to the Prime Minister. Those debates on that whole process ...

rose—

I have not yet given way to my hon. Friend, so I will now.

Will my right hon. Friend explain what the £12.7 billion of contingency will do to the benefit-co...

At the moment, the value-cost ratio is reckoned to be 2.5. I also point out that the BCR tells us...

My right hon. Friend has announced that the total budget for the infrastructure plan will be abou...

If my hon. Friend will allow me to make a bit more progress, he will find that I am going to be v...

rose—

I give way to my hon. Friend, who I met yesterday—I think, but the days are getting a bit blurred...

They are getting blurred for us all. I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way and for...

The meeting that I had yesterday with my hon. Friend and his constituents was very useful, and I ...

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for giving way, and pleased to be able to follow the interv...

As someone who was born and brought up in Staffordshire, I know the area that my hon. Friends are...

rose—

I cannot not give way to my constituency neighbour.

The Secretary of State has been dealing with blight, and he mentions Staffordshire, but he also k...

I will say a little more about compensation in a moment. I accept and appreciate the hon. Gentlem...

The Secretary of State said that there is a contingency provision of nearly 40% in this project. ...

It is a normal level of contingency that would be put into a scheme of this sort, and it is built...

I have met some of my constituents in Greasbro road in Tinsley in Sheffield, whose homes will be ...

The hon. Gentleman makes a very good point. We have said that we will go out to consultation. I f...

Supporting British jobs is essential. The Secretary of State will know that the finest rail in th...

I can assure my hon. Friend that I want HS2 to be not dissimilar in this respect to Crossrail, wh...

Will the Secretary of State meet a delegation from Coventry, as he suggested he would just before...

I hope the hon. Gentleman does not mind my pointing out that I met a delegation before Christmas....

Britain’s railways face a major capacity challenge in the years to come. That was why, when we we...

The hon. Lady has just said that the project is supported by Members from all parts of the House....

I would not agree with that, except in the narrow sense that the project is being taken forward b...

The hon. Lady talks about the communities that will be served by the proposed high-speed rail lin...

The hon. Gentleman raises a legitimate concern, which was probably not helped by the Secretary of...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will give way once I have answered the hon. Member for Dudley South (Chris Kelly).

The Op...

Does my hon. Friend agree that this project will have a huge economic benefit to places such as B...

My hon. Friend makes a good point and I agree with him.

Is not the truth of the matter that High Speed 2 will release capacity on the west coast main lin...

My goodness, I find myself in total agreement with the hon. Gentleman.

Despite the importan...

I hear what the hon. Lady says, but she should look at the average length of service of Labour Se...

It is starting to worry me, when I contemplate my political future, that the average length acros...

Will the hon. Lady give way?

I will make a little progress and then give way to the hon. Gentleman.

The fact is that it ...

Harvard Business Review says that there are about 40 mega-regions in the world that straddle nati...

We cannot get any further north than Leeds and Manchester until we have got to Leeds and Manchest...

The hon. Lady talks with great enthusiasm about HS2. Will she reassure the House that Her Majesty...

The hon. Gentleman is speaking in hope rather than expectation. I know his own personal concern a...

I am grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way. I am also grateful to her and the Secretary of Sta...

It is fair to say that there are concerns about connectivity and what is happening at the souther...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

I will do, and then I would like to make a little progress.

I did not quite catch my hon. Friend’s answer to the hon. Member for Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Mr Mac...

I understand my hon. Friend’s point, and the one I made in response to the earlier intervention w...

According to the latest Government figures, Scotland has 8.4% of the UK population but provides 9...

I do not accept the hon. Gentleman’s premise that there will be no benefit to Scotland before the...

Does the hon. Lady agree that, if we are going to spend this large amount of money on HS2, we sho...

I have a great deal of sympathy for the hon. Gentleman’s point. It makes no sense to me at all th...

Is my hon. Friend aware that HS2 is saying that it wants to use the north London line for the lin...

I would undoubtedly trust my right hon. Friend—there is absolutely no doubt about that. The point...

I am really grateful to the hon. Lady for giving way, because our speeches are being restricted t...

I do not think it fair to assume that if I had the Secretary of State’s role after the next gener...

Do the Opposition therefore support the concept of a property bond that would try to improve on t...

I am willing to support anything that can properly, fairly and reasonably compensate people in a ...

I would like to mention a point raised with the Secretary of State a while ago. Asking people to ...

That is an important point. Such action could, indeed, lead to other benefits, if it meant that m...

I think it important to put on record the fact that the phrase “a rich man’s toy” was presented t...

I think every Member of Parliament realises, given the present state of journalism in this countr...

I must now announce the result of a Division deferred from a previous day. On the motion relating...

rose—

Order. In view of the fact that more than 30 Back Benchers wish to speak in the debate, I have im...

I beg to move an amendment:

That this House declines to give a second reading to a Bill whi...

The right hon. Lady is an excellent constituency MP and the route north of Birmingham includes Ma...

Ah, but fortunately I was elected to represent Chesham and Amersham, so I do not have to answer t...

Will my right hon. Friend give way?

Yes, as I think I get extra time if I do.

Does my right hon. Friend acknowledge that while the NAO report did, indeed, make those criticism...

That is a nice try, but the cost of this project is going up minute-by-minute, so I doubt that th...

I am pleased to support this legislation today, which is a significant step in securing High Spee...

I completely agree with the hon. Lady’s point. I wonder, Mr Speaker whether I might use this inte...

The House is grateful.

I thank the Secretary of State for clarifying that situation.

The consultation, which has n...

It is always a great pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), th...

Does my hon. Friend think, like my hon. Friend the Member for Northampton South (Mr Binley), that...

My research has shown that if we are committing to build a new railway line, the cost of building...

I can certainly back up my hon. Friend’s point. I was on the Committee that considered the Bill a...

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for that intervention. I took the opportunity to visit the route ...

I was on that trip with my hon. Friend and a notable fact given to us by Kent county council was ...

My hon. Friend is absolutely right.

To those who voice concern about visual intrusion on ar...

HS2 will unleash havoc on Euston, Primrose Hill and Camden Town in my constituency. It will demol...

Does the right hon. Gentleman agree that because we do not have the full environmental statement—...

The right hon. Lady is absolutely right. Recently, HS2 Ltd has been forced to confess that it und...

Is my right hon. Friend aware that last week, the New Economics Foundation produced the third ind...

I cannot possibly disagree with my hon. Friend. In theory, a million years ago, I got a degree in...

I very much welcome the Bill. It is an important stage in implementing a promise from the Liberal...

Has the hon. Gentleman seen some of the research that shows that rather than strengthening the pr...

I have seen some of that analysis, but I disagree with it. All the past experience is that by con...

Two acts of monumental folly have been imposed on the railway industry over the past 50 years. Th...

Has my hon. Friend looked at the really interesting French research showing the deleterious effec...

I have. As my hon. Friend said earlier, there is a report that makes just that point—that such pr...

The hon. Gentleman makes the point, as I understand it, that infrastructure spending does not spr...

We are where we are. I do not wish to have an argument about whether the building of the M1 and M...

The hon. Gentleman is generous in giving way a third time. I make the point again: the logic of h...

I hear what the hon. Gentleman says, but I do not understand the point that he is trying to make....

I will come straight back to the hon. Gentleman on that point. I have met a lot of business peopl...

I say again that not one business man has come to me to make the argument.

The project is a...

rose—

Order. Interventions have taken up a lot of time, so I am having to reduce the time limit to five...

The eastern side of my constituency, in the heart of the east midlands, borders the proposed site...

Is my hon. Friend aware that 1.5 million train journeys are carried out each day and that 56 mill...

I thank my hon. Friend for his intervention. I hear his statistics, but I also look to the future...

If my hon. Friend would like to see, as I have seen, the benefits of such a scheme, she should go...

I am grateful for my hon. Friend’s imaginative ideas. If an opportunity arises to visit China and...

I will not detain the House long. I speak as the joint chair of the all-party parliamentary group...

The hon. Gentleman is making a convincing argument in favour of HS2. He raises the important poin...

I will not be drawn into a discussion about hub airports.

On the benefits and disbenefits, ...

As the proud MP who has King’s Cross, St Pancras and Euston stations in his constituency, I am ra...

I hope I am not falling into that trap. I think that a high-speed system that will eventually joi...

Will the hon. Gentleman give way?

I will not, if the hon. Gentleman will forgive me. I have already given way twice.

My last ...

I rise to support the Bill. I am in favour of expanding our high-speed rail network. I respect ho...

My hon. Friend says that his constituency will be in no way affected. Unfortunately, it will be, ...

My hon. Friend makes a fair point, but similar points could be made about every item of Governmen...

indicated dissent.

No. Sorry, he looked, err—[Hon. Members: “Keep going!”] I’ll keep going, right. I think what he, ...

You’ve lost your train of thought.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I will try to get back on line.

I am very supportive of where...

I, too, will support the Bill. I supported the Y route before it was the policy of the last Gover...

Does the hon. Gentleman appreciate that compensation has already been paid to some people, and th...

I can understand that. I think that the right hon. Lady is making a wider point about the need to...

In my constituency, someone who used to be an owner-occupier got a job elsewhere and let their pl...

I understand that point. I have a constituent who bought a small property as an investment with a...

I draw the House’s attention to my previous declaration—that the proposed route of HS2 not only b...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the cost benefit has been pushed to one side by Ministers today? N...

I thank my right hon. Friend for that intervention. She is absolutely right, and I shall deal wit...

My hon. Friend makes the point that others have made—that the business case does not properly ref...

My hon. Friend makes a valid point, and I shall deal with the issue of capacity later in my speec...

Will my hon. Friend give way?

With pleasure, and some trepidation.

Does my hon. Friend not recognise that it has been stated categorically that capacity will be rea...

I put it to my hon. Friend that anyone predicting what capacity, or the demand for any commodity ...

I shall vote for the amendment and against the Bill’s Second Reading, because I believe that this...

I pay tribute to the hon. Lady. There is rarely an occasion on which I do not agree with her. Con...

Absolutely. It has already been suggested that the compensation schemes should mirror those in ot...

Does the hon. Lady share my concern that about 30% of the businesses on the route that could be a...

That is absolutely right. This affects rural areas differently from how it affects cities. We are...

My views on HS2 since being elected to Parliament in 2010 are well known. I started by supporting...

HS1 has brought some multinational companies to the end of the route at King’s Cross. Surely that...

I absolutely agree with my hon. Friend, and I am not denying that any railway line or other infra...

I welcome the point about making more use of the high-speed track. Why, then, is my hon. Friend n...

I am delighted that my hon. Friend intervened, and that would be a possibility. The bottom line i...

I am delighted to be at this debate and supporting this Bill, providing, as it will, the ability ...

I hate to disagree with my hon. Friend, particularly as she is my Whip, but I think she will see ...

Old Oak—where? All I would say to my hon. Friend is that Stratford has an international station, ...

I am pleased to speak in favour of Second Reading and against the amendment. I have been struck t...

I am reminded that within a week of first becoming a Member of this House, there was a vote on an...

I appreciate the right hon. Gentleman’s witty intervention, but I do not think it has anything to...

Sixty-seven.

I am sorry—67.

Everyone else—including China and others around the world—is looking to expa...

In his pilgrimages around the European Union, did my hon. Friend have the opportunity to speak to...

I am not sure which citizens of that famous French city my hon. Friend has been speaking to, but ...

I am suggesting precisely that alternative. I have a scheme for a dedicated freight route, capabl...

I am pleased that we have Members with such fertile imaginations in this House that the hon. Gent...

It was the private sector that did it, not the public sector.

I hear my hon. Friend chuntering from a sedentary position. We have an extremely interesting side...

rose—

Order. Sixteen Members still wish to participate in the debate, and I fully appreciate how import...

It is a pleasure to follow, even at two thirds of the rate, the stirring speech made by the hon. ...

Life can deal some heavy blows, but not usually from so kind a Deputy Speaker. I will discard mos...

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for Northampton South (Mr Binley). His emphasis on fre...

HS2 has been proposed as a solution to the problems we currently face. We are told that it is gre...

Does it not seem rather perverse that we are reducing the amount of public subsidy for some commu...

I must agree. Only a very small percentage of people use trains regularly. As the Transport Secre...

Like many Members, I was rather saddened when I realised that the time for our speeches would be ...

In the light of your entreaty and decision to cut us down to four minutes, Madam Deputy Speaker, ...

I firmly support the delivery of a new north-south rail line, because faster journeys will bring ...

I offer a heartfelt thank you to my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State and the Minister of...

My hon. Friend says that he overwhelmingly supports HS2. He supported it this morning when it was...

I am glad for the extra minute, but my hon. Friend knows that he is making those figures up. He i...

I rise to support the Bill. HS2 will link eight of Britain’s 10 largest cities. As a Yorkshire MP...

Earlier this year, hundreds of my constituents awoke to find that the value of their homes had be...

Does my hon. Friend agree that the fact that Virgin is starting a major advertising campaign to a...

I do. The first-class coaches are almost never full. Indeed, I have often seen one person per fir...

Does my hon. Friend recall that the initial estimates of capacity usage for HS1 were overestimate...

Yes, and I fully understand the problems mentioned by some of my hon. Friends. We need to do some...

I certainly welcome the Bill. For too long, we have been trying to move our 21st century populati...

If Members can agree on anything, it is surely that there is an urgent need to rebalance Britain’...

As is the norm with any major infrastructure project in this country, HS2 has provoked a massive ...

I support the Bill, but before I say why I support it let me give a number of reasons for not bui...

I oppose this Bill on national and local grounds. I pay tribute to the people of Stone, Swynnerto...

Does my hon. Friend agree that there is nothing in this Bill that either pushes forward any compe...

I could not agree more. The fact is that the current arrangements for compensation are wholly ina...

I rise to speak in favour of the Bill. This is a massively important piece of national infrastruc...

As we have heard today from numerous hon. Members, the railways face an imminent capacity crunch....

This has been an extremely good and well-informed debate. A significant number of my hon. Friends...

Will the Minister give way?

I am sorry, but no. I have very little time and a lot to say to reply to the debate.

In the...

On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I seek your advice on where the £10 billion of extra funding, wh...

I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for his point of order. I will deal with his second point fir...