British high-speed rail project HS2 accused of huge fraud

CrossRail went massively over budget, repeatedly, huge bonuses to senior managers before for deadlines, large contractor salaries… yet that’s a 100% purely London project. Can’t let the Queen Elizabeth line die can we?

To state the obvious. Absolute theft from the taxpayer, and exactly designed to to this. Criminal.

So not what most normal people would consider fraud, just under reporting project estimated costs to get it past the penny pinching Tories scum who currently supposedly running the country.

So they’ve spent £106 billion – say 100 new hospitals at a billion each – just to get from London to Birmingham 25 minutes quicker than the existing line – what a scandalous waste of money – remind me again what the Cameron/Osbourne austerity years were for? who are these people and why did they never listen to anyone with common sense who said it was a stupid idea from the outset – see you at the ballot box.

Where has my previous comment gone ???

If the govt was serious about costs : a construction company from China would have completed the line at speed and below costs.
Sadly, there are many (racism?) who feel that China is behind UK. While China has completed stupendous projects.

Maybe missing money went to some other country to fund some war 🤷‍♂️

From David … At about 10.15 tonight, 23rd October 2023, I sent a “full box” comment which began “okay so that’s HS2 sorted …” etc the message does not appear but my name and e.mail address does … however, a second brief “Where has my previous message …” etc does appear … ?
Railtech data controller, please locate and display my original main message DR

From what I have seen of Conservative political conduct over 50+years of adult perception, it appears that formal training in methods of fraud and deception are preordained requisites of senior ministerial office within any Tory legislature … integrity and free speech curtailment notwithstanding.
DR

I’m surprised that a credible publication like this one has fallen for this utter BS propaganda. The second Barking Lord Berkeley is mentioned, you know it’s going to be an anti-HS2 puff piece.

Just imagine if they had spent £100bn on upgrading ECML, ECML. They would still have been able to update the busiest line in the country the Brighton main line to 4 tracks (something that was planned before WW2 with half the traffic) beggars belief tbh but as usual with any government project it’s just a contractor cash cow to be milked to death. Shocking

If this government had known HS2 was corrupt they would have kept it going.

HS2 was the idea of the Gordon Brown Labour Government and retained by the Conservative Liberal Democrats and should be considered as a very long term project, like they have in Japan and not built in a day. As it stands going just to Birmingham is a waste, so it has to be resurected and go all the way to Leeds to be viable and worth all the disruption so far. However since the project started,Covid has changed our working patterns and the use of Zoom may reduce the need for wk related travel.

A few weeks ago we travelled back to Stafford from Euston on a Saturday evening and arrived in Stafford 16minutes early. If that can be done now why do we need HS2

I don’t think HS2 in Britain was originally ‘intended to connect much of the country’. It was meant to link the southeast of the England region to a couple of destinations on the edge of northern England via the centre of the region. Not ‘much of the country’ at all.

For that sort of money they could have made rail travel free! Think what benefits that would bring to things like the volume of traffic on the roads and the associated pollution. It would have been a big step towards net zero well before 2050!

Politicians are all corrupt, they really don’t care about the people of this country, ordinary hard working people should run this country not a bunch of public school toffs who wouldn’t know a hard day’s work, we all knew HS2 was a disaster and they have desicrated the land

HS2 was a Central London land grab nothing more nothing less.

Why is the vast majority of HS2 workers from India,Bangladesh and other foreign countries all have had training on machines and hardly any local people have had employment from it.
It’s all well payed so thats not an issue starting at around £16 per hour for just standing there,if the general public saw what goes on they would pull the plug on a complete waste of money project.
Just think what use the NHS could put this to what a mess this country is in and nobody seems bothered.

HS2 is manned by foreign workers from India Bangladesh and elsewhere payed £16ph min.
They haven’t used hardly any local workers ,why is this money being wasted on people who want to commute between Birmingham and London so they can put house prices up all the way between the two places,it the most expensive shortest distance of travel in the world.
The world watches to see if were stupid enough to let the NHS fail and we end up with a ridiculously expensive rail track give your heads a shake.

What’s left to say?
My MP Saqib Bhatti is a lover of the project.
My biggest upset is that this will go ahead now anyway, regardless of what anyone says, the Government are being incredibly condescending about the taxpayers opinions.
My MP does listen, he talks back like you are a child, I’m 60. The arrogance of all involved is breathtaking.
Sue Hodson Balsall Common Cov

It was always a gravy train for the corporate pals of the Tories. HS2 shows that the Conservative party is reverting to its original purpose which was to consolidate the wealth, power & privileges of the ruling 5% of UK.
Post-Brexit, the Tories cannot even provide the ‘crumbs off the table’ for the middle-class. HS2 and the covid corruption seems to suggest that they’re preparing to spend more time with their wallets.
and calling in favours when they’re voted out..

I firmly believe and put on record here that the remaining section of HS2 between Euston and Birmingham, if it is ever delivered, will cost £200 billion and be delivered 10 years late. It should be completely stopped right here, right now.

The clue is in the name, CONServatives. Look at the COVID response by the CONServative government. Do we really expect any difference?

Not at all surprised by the Corruption Scandal news. Such large Taxpayer funded projects nearly always fail due to poor control and lack of leadership. At least three rotten Transport Ministers along the way signed off billions to go down the tubes. The NHS is beleaguered with the same stereotypes. Browns Labour Government started the rot, then successive administrations failed to stop it. Sadly part of the British Disease of many years standing.

There was no oversight because they don’t want any, was never to be a transport success, it was always to be a money making exercise- the spending is going to Conservative donors and Tory owned businesses. The plant they use – all new JCBs, Lexus 4×4 runaround’s. Audit the finances – it has gone to Millionaires Billionaires who own Tory government. They don’t care about our transport system, they don’t suffer living in the U.K. or they simply fly over us in their Biz jets and helicopters…

Lot of labourites complaining.
If Gordon Brown hadn’t sold off most of the gold reserves to balance the books at it’s lowest price ever we could have built HS2 to Edinburgh