Patrick McLoughlin says government will work with the Labour opposition to ensure the required legislation is brought forward
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin has reiterated the government’s commitment to the high-speed rail line to the north of England, saying he will work with the Labour opposition to ensure the required legislation is brought forward in this parliament.
In an interview with the Independent, McLoughlin said HS2 had the unequivocal backing of both David Cameron and the chancellor George Osborne and said there would be no significant compromises on the published HS2 route between London and Birmingham, despite vocal opposition from the Conservative MPs through whose constituencies the line will run.
He said: “The easiest thing for any government to do on a project the size of HS2 is to say we’re not doing it. All we get is grief. All we get is hassle. But one of the things that government has got to try and do is to look to the long-term future.
“Whichever route we’re going to put it on we’re going to upset people.”
However, the line still faces five separate requests for judicial reviews challenging the government’s decision to press ahead with the high-speed 2 line, with all five cases to be heard together over a seven-day period in the High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, in the Administrative Court, starting on December 3.
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