Labour Can’t Commit to Backing HS2, Says Shadow Minister

The opposition party wants to build the high speed rail links but will have to assess related numbers when the election comes, the front bencher said.

An HS2 construction worker at Curzon Street station in Birmingham, England, on May 10, 2021. PA

A Labour front bencher has said the party can’t commit to plans to building HS2 amid speculation that the high-speed rail project could be trimmed over spiralling costs.

It comes as Prime Minister Rishi Sunak defended the government’s decision to reconsider the biggest infrastructure project in the UK, rejecting claims that it made the country a “laughing stock.”