We’re still waiting for the main manifesto from the big thee political parties, but last week the Labour party issued two mini-manifestos. These were their workplace manifesto, A Better Plan for Britain’s Workplaces, and their business manifesto, A Better Plan for Business.
In a move that shows that Labour consider HS2 irrelevant for the lives of ordinary working people, nay a single sentence in the business manifesto mentions it: “We will continue to support the construction of High Speed Two, while taking clear steps to ensure costs are kept down.”
However contradicting their support for HS2, they also say that a Labour government will “Support investment in low carbon technologies with a 2030 electricity decarbonisation target and a stronger Green Investment Bank”. HS2 is not carbon friendly, with even HS2 Ltd themselves admitting that even in a century’s time, HS2 may continue to be the cause of increased carbon emissions.
Of note though, is the acknowledgements for the Business Manifesto include Andrew Adonis – the ex-Labour Transport Minister who rushed out the original HS2 Phase 1 route announcement in the last few weeks of the previous Labour Government.
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