AIBU in thinking that the country needs £120bn to pay for pandemic and HS2 will cost £120bn - so ........

[NotEnoughLaughs]

Just that really. Wouldn't scrapping HS2 be the perfect answer to pay for the pandemic? Might even allow for a decent pay rise for NHS workers?

Definitely scrap HS2, no one will bloody use the train. They can’t get normal trains to run properly. Huge waste of money. I think they didn’t something like £70m before breaking ground!

Yes definitely, but I don't think anything will make them stop it. Such a huge waste of money and waste of ancient woodland and important habitat loss.

I agree. Online working and meetings, and WiFi on trains mean it's not a big deal to shave 20 minutes off a journey anyway. Better to build up local industry in those areas.

Agree completely, but I suspect they’re too far along now to be willing to back out.

Should have been scrapped along time ago!!!!

That's not how economics works. There isn't a piggy bank with a limited stash of cash in to spend on one thing or another.

If you have a million people newly unemployed, then cancelling a major infrastructure project is not how you get them back into work.

But aren't we trillions in debt? cancelling HS2 won't even touch the sides. I do think we need to invest in rail.just not hs2

We are already trillions in debt for HS2. What a mess.

After WW2 and building a mountain of debt what did we do??? Found the NHS. That's what. Right afterwards.

The scale of HS2 could be reduced given how far construction has gone.

The pandemic figure I recall from last week's budget was a lot more.

I don't disagree with the principle of what you're saying (also not a fan of HS2), but as other posters have said, that's not how it works. Stopping HS2 won't suddenly put billions of pounds in the national funds.

Probably all manner of penaltiy clauses on contracts being canceled too.

Infrastructure projects are probably more likely to help bring the country out of this than handouts.

It should have been scrapped a long time ago. If we are serious about reducing cars on the road, the money would have been better invested in making local lines more viable, and reopening some closed lines.

Now with so much debt, the whole thing should be scrapped.

Will probably cost just as much to scrap though as too far in.