MP Owen Paterson calls for HS2 to be abandoned
A Shropshire MP who backed HS2 while in Government says he has now changed his mind and is opposed to the scheme.
Owen Paterson, who voted for the controversial scheme when he was a cabinet minister, said he no longer thought it was worth either the cost or the disruption to his constituency.
The North Shropshire MP said HS2 involved using 'Victorian technology' at a time when money was desperately needed for superfast internet connections.
Mr Paterson said he had been 'on a journey' since first backing the scheme during his time in David Cameron's government, and had become more sceptical over the years that followed.
Speaking in a debate in the Commons this week, he said: "My worry about this project is that this is actually Victorian technology. Large steel boxes rolling around on steel wheels is not modern technology.
"We are looking at the most expensive railway ever imagined. The original proposals were set in 2010 and the projected cost was £32.6 billion, that is now up to over £60 billion. Some estimates are talking about £80 billion, while other suggest £100 billion.
Disillusioned
"I have become increasingly disillusioned by the cost and the damage to my own patch."
Mr Paterson said the money earmarked for HS2 would be far better spent on providing full-fibre broadband coverage, which would cost £30 billion to connect every house in the UK.
He also said he was unhappy about the disruption the scheme would cause to the village of Woore in the north of his constituency.
He said the village, which had a population of 1,200, would see 300 vehicle movements a day for six months during the construction phase, which would have a big impact on children walking to school.
Mr Paterson said the scheme was also flawed in that it did not connect with either Heathrow Airport or the Channel Tunnel.
"That does not seem to be a very clever co-ordination of the most expensive railway that man has ever yet conceived," he said.
Mr Paterson voted against a Bill to approve the section of the route from the West Midlands to Crewe, but it was comfortably passed by 246 votes.
