Election call leads to media ‘scare’ that HS2 could be stopped

The most immediate repercussion for transport policy after the Prime Minister called a General Election for early June was the suggestion that this could signal the end for the HS2 high-speed rail network.

Rik Thomas

28 April 2017

Reaction to the media’s suggestion that HS2 could be cancelled forced transport minister Andrew Jones to issue an immediate denial that the high-speed rail project might not go ahead

The calling of a General Election by Prime Minister Theresa May on 18 April led to a sudden flurry of media interest in transport matters, and specifically a renewed burst of commentary on the proposed HS2 high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham and then points north.

The Independent’s travel correspondent, Simon Calder, for example, reported at length on a meeting of the transport select committee on 19 April to discuss various aspects of HS2 (see page 10). “For the future...