Sir Keir Starmer‘s vow that Labour will be ‘builders, not blockers’ is being questioned amid claims he will axe another key part of HS2 and shelve the Stonehenge tunnel.
Both of the major infrastructure projects are reportedly under threat as Chancellor Rachel Reeves prepares to set out a £20billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances.
In a statement to the House of Commons this afternoon, Ms Reeves is expected to scrap or cut back a number of projects in a bid to ease budgetary pressures.
The Government has signalled the beleaguered HS2 railway may end in a London suburb rather than running into the centre of the capital to Euston station as originally planned.
Critics have warned such a move would be ‘completely insane’ and make HS2 a ‘pointless’ rail route.
It has also emerged how Ms Reeves is poised to scrap a £1.7billion tunnel under the Stonehenge monument on the A303 in Wiltshire.
This is despite the long-touted project, which has been subject to years of legal wrangling, being supported by English Heritage, Historic England and the National Trust.
Sir Keir Starmer ‘s vow that Labour will be ‘builders, not blockers’ is being questioned amid claims he will axe another key part of HS2 and shelve the Stonehenge tunnel
Chancellor Rachel Reeves, spotted out jogging in St James’s Park yesterday, is set to outline a £20billion ‘black hole’ in the public finances
The Government has signalled the beleaguered HS2 railway may end in a London suburb at Old Oak Common rather than running into the centre of the capital
It has also emerged how Ms Reeves is poised to scrap a planned £1.7billion tunnel under the Stonehenge monument on the A303 in Wiltshire
The HS2 project is shown in 2020 (left) and 2024 (right) in these National Audit Office maps
Ms Reeves is set to heap the blame on the previous Tory government when she announces immediate steps to cut costs.
She will claim a Treasury spending audit she commissioned shows the Conservatives overspent this year’s budgets by billions of pounds after making a series of unfunded promises.
She will also accuse the Tory government of ‘covering up the true state of the public finances’.
In October last year, former prime minister Rishi Sunak axed the northern leg of HS2 from Birmingham to Manchester as he blasted the project’s ballooning costs.
But he confirmed the high-speed rail link would run into London Eustion station as initially planned, despite reports trains could instead terminate at a new hub at Old Oak Common in west London’s suburbs.
This would have forced passengers to complete their journeys to central London on the Elizabeth Line.
It has been reported that new Labour ministers, ahead of Ms Reeves’ statement to MPs, have been weighing up whether to scrap the Euston section of HS2.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden this morning confirmed the Government would ‘examine’ HS2.
Asked about reports that the high speed line could end at Old Oak Common rather than run to Euston, he told Times Radio: ‘We have inherited a very difficult situation on HS2.
‘The previous government chopped it bit by bit so we are left with the bit that we have got left. We will have to examine that like all the other projects.
‘But people can be assured that in the difficult decisions that we have to take we will prioritise things that will contribute to growth.’
The Sunday Times reported that Ms Reeves will use her Commons statement to confirm the Government will not commit itself to a new £1.7billion tunnel under Stonehenge.
But it said a final decision may not come until a ruling on the project by the Court of Appeal in the early autumn.
In 2014, the then coalition government announced it would invest in a fully bored tunnel of at least 2.9km to remove much of the A303 from the World Heritage Site.
Approval for the scheme was overturned by a judicial review in 2021, but it was approved again in 2023 with preliminary work scheduled to have begun this summer.
