UK

I've been an RMT trade unionist for 30 years. This is why the government has it wrong on HS2

Yahoo News UK
Fri, 6 October 2023 

Mick Lynch: 'Money for key public transport infrastructure projects that would transform the country, could easily be afforded if the political will was there.' (Getty)

Mick Lynch has been general secretary of the Rail Maritime Transport Workers union for two years and a member since 1993. Lynch has since become a well-known public figure, leading calls for better wages and working conditions for railway workers as well as campaigning against compulsory redundancies in the sector.

On Wednesday, Rishi Sunak announced he plans to scrap the Manchester leg of HS2. The announcement has largely been greeted with despair by political leaders in the North.

I grew up on a Paddington council estate, leaving school at 16 to become an electrician and worked in the construction industry.

After helping to form a new union in the sector, I was blacklisted for my trade union activity. This was confirmed when the conspiracy among major construction companies was finally brought to court. As a result of not being able to find work, I joined the railways in 1993 and worked at Eurostar, where I became an RMT activist. I never sought the post of general secretary but after being elected to the NEC and then assistant general secretary, I was encouraged to stand and I was elected in 2021.

Yesterday's announcement by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that a northern leg of HS2 has been scrapped is a disaster for the British economy and a slap in the face to future generations.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak (pictured) has delivered a "slap in the face" to future generations, says Mick Lynch. (Alamy)


Britain needs an integrated affordable and modern high-speed rail system that can connect every village town and city promoting increased economic activity. There has been much talk about the escalating budget of HS2. No doubt the use of private contractors, greedy consultants and advisers has not helped with the cost of this project. However, cost is not the reason why the Tories are scrapping a major part of HS2.

When the banks were bailed out in 2009, £750 billion was found. When we needed to implement furlough due to the unprecedented global pandemic, £139billion was found. And when energy companies pleaded poverty due to rising prices and people were struggling to pay their bills, the government found £40 billion.

Money for key public transport infrastructure projects that would transform the country, could easily be afforded if the political will was there. Instead, we have a millionaire prime minister who uses a helicopter to get around and is out of touch with what the country needs going forward.

Rishi Sunak tried to spin the line that he was creating a northern network with improved rail and bus travel whilst appealing to the motoring lobby with promises of improved motorways. Considering he has just scrapped a major infrastructure project, the public would be wise to be sceptical. And we know you can’t trust the Tories on transport when they are planning to de-staff our railway and close nearly every railway ticket office.

The construction site for the HS2 project at Curzon Street in Birmingham. Sunak has now axed plans for HS2 to run from Birmingham to Manchester. (Alamy)

But even if Sunak carries out his plan, including having HS2-branded trains travelling on normal non high-speed railway lines and increased bus services, it will not make up for the fact high-speed line from Birmingham to Manchester has been abandoned. Sunak presents investments in public transport infrastructure as an either-or equation, where we can have local transport networks but not interconnect the whole country.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has already criticised the prime minister’s ‘network north’ initiative saying that it doesn’t deal with the east-west travel problem that is in desperate need of being addressed. Mayor Burnham has correctly pointed out that the abandonment of HS2 to the north of England and full connectivity, will increase divisions in the country and hinder economic growth where it is most needed.

The full HS2 project including the abandoned London to Leeds, which was scrapped in 2021, would have represented the start, not the finish, of a high-speed revolution in Britain. Such an approach presents a different vision for the country; one that is about creating tens of thousands of jobs, being environmentally sustainable and a Britain that is in step with the rest of the world in high-speed rail technology.

Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, has argued in favour of retaining the Manchester leg of HS2. (Alamy)

This has been reflected somewhat embarrassingly by historic tweets both from former transport secretary Grant Shapps and current chancellor Jeremy Hunt. Shapps said on X (formerly Twitter) at the beginning of last year: “Imagine Manchester to London by rail in just 70 minutes?

"Today I’m laying a Bill in Parliament that will make this a reality - taking HS2 tracks from Crewe to Manchester – improving services, increasing connections, boosting local economies & creating 17,500 direct jobs."

And Hunt said in 2020: "No HS2 = no ambition for our country just when the whole world is looking at us. Now is a time to be AMBITIOUS." Now these ministers, along with this zombie government, are abandoning future generations both economically and environmentally in a desperate attempt to appeal to the most short term reactionary politics in order to hoodwink the public at a general election.

This attitude is mirrored in how they treat existing railway workers and refuse to give a mandate to train operating companies to do a deal with RMT.

As general secretary of RMT, I will not stop our industrial campaigning for our members jobs, decent working conditions and a pay rise until we have a fair settlement for our people that protects jobs, conditions, pay, and the service we work on. And we will continue to fight for the future of high speed rail as it is a key part of building a genuine brighter tomorrow.