UKIP MEP brands Transport Secretary 'delusional' for saying Conservative election victory was endorsement of HS2
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin is 'delusional' if he thinks the General Election result was an endorsement of the HS2 rail link, a leading UKIP MEP has said.
UKIP's Transport spokesman Jill Seymour accused the Conservative government of totally ignoring people whose homes stand to be destroyed by the £50 billion high-speed rail link.
It comes after Mr McLoughlin, a former Cannock miner, said the election result was a 'vote of confidence' in HS2.
Shropshire-based Mrs Seymour said: "Mr McLoughlin is delusional in thinking that winning the general election is down to the support for HS2.
"He totally ignores the valid views of individuals who have already lost value on their properties and left them, in some situations, feeling desperate.
"Nothing has changed these past few weeks. HS2 still has no proven business case, and the eventual cost of the project is anyone's guess – it seems to go up every week.
"The comments made by Mr McLoughlin prove that the Tory government is still not listening to those affected by this line, and doesn't care about racking up a debt which will take generations to pay off, and which Britain simply cannot afford."
Mr McLoughlin said: "The General Election result was a massive vote of confidence in favour of HS2.
"So the argument has been won. HS2 will be built, the full 'Y' network, from London to Birmingham and Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds, with construction starting in just two years.
"HS2 will change the transport architecture of the north. But it will also change the economic architecture."
He also unveiled plans to bring forward work on the Staffordshire stretch of the line by six years.
HS2 is set to cut a 45-mile swathe through the county.
UKIP has always maintained that the HS2 'vanity project' should be scrapped.
Mrs Seymour said: "It is destroying people's lives and their communities. There are still unanswered questions on plans and costs, and yet it is still moving forward against public wishes. It will only be supporting a minority, at the expense of the majority.
"What passengers want is an affordable, comfortable, reliable and efficient rail network system that delivers from south to north, and east to west. We already have a network in place, but it is desperate for improvement."
