Half of Britons believe that HS2 should be scrapped to fill the budget shortfall, new polling has revealed.
Just 18 per cent of people think it is acceptable for the government to raise taxes while keeping the high-speed rail line, which is already billions over budget.
Support for scrapping HS2 is highest in the West Midlands, a region that would directly benefit from the project, where 57 per cent of those surveyed by JL Partners were against the project. Nationally, the figure was 51 per cent.
The findings come as Rachel Reeves is due to use her second budget to introduce a range of tax rises that will hit middle and higher-income households. HS2 has been repeatedly delayed and vastly over budget, despite successive governments paring it back.
The original design of the 330-mile Y-shaped network was due to connect London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds, with politicians eyeing the possibility of 248mph trains that could connect London and Manchester in just over an hour. The whole project was originally due to cost £32.7 billion (in 2011 prices) with the first leg between London and the Midlands opening in late 2026.
Trains will now run only between London and Birmingham, and the cost of the project is expected to hit more than £70 billion, with “no hope” of services beginning before 2033, ministers have admitted.
Civil construction on HS2 is expected to reach 70 per cent completion by the end of the year
MIKE KEMP/GETTY
Tom Lubbock, co-founder of JL Partners, said: “It’s pretty stark that a majority of the public think of HS2 as wasteful spending that they would not want to see offset with tax rises.
“When only one in five of the public think that HS2 represents good value for money, you know that something has gone very wrong with both how a project is delivered and how it has been communicated.”
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The project had already cost £40.5 billion and it was allocated £25.3 billion over four years by Reeves in the summer spending review to “progress delivery of HS2 from Birmingham Curzon Street to London Euston”. Critics believe that at least £20 billion more will be needed to complete the line and station at Euston.
Richard Tice, the deputy leader of Reform UK, said: “The findings of this new poll demonstrate that the British public have had enough of the HS2 gravy train to nowhere.
Ministers admit there is “no hope” of HS2 services starting before 2033
RYAN JENKINSON/GETTY
“As I’ve said for many years, this project offers no value for money and has been woefully mismanaged by government and the supply chain since day one.
“HS2 is the real black hole and by scrapping HS2 in Wednesday’s budget, Rachel Reeves and the Labour government would prevent the need for painful tax rises on hardworking British people.”
Sources familiar with the project stressed that taxes were not rising to pay for the project and said that civil construction was expected to be 70 per cent complete by the end of the year.
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A spokesman for High-Speed Rail Group, which represents the sector, said: “Scrapping HS2 now would squander billions of taxpayers’ money already invested. The London-to-Birmingham section is the most complex and costly part of the line, with a large chunk already built.”
The polling found that just 19 per cent of respondents thought HS2 was either very good value or somewhat good value. Support for the project was highest among the younger working population, who were much more likely to say it was good value for money. Support for scrapping the project increased with age.
The Department for Transport was contacted for comment.