WATCH: Nigel Farage delivers scathing verdict on HS2 after latest delay to project

GB News

Nigel Farage has called on the Government to abandon the HS2 rail project despite £30billion already being spent on the controversial high-speed rail line.Speaking on GB News, the Reform UK leader argued that the funds allocated to HS2 should instead be redirected towards upgrading Britain's existing rail network.FULL STORY HERE.

Transcript

00:00I find it extraordinary that whether it's spending review announcements or budgets,

00:03we talk about cutting a billion here or a billion there,

00:06we rarely discuss HS2, which of course is costing tens of billions,

00:11and forecast to cost many tens more.

00:14Well, today this subject was back on the agenda.

00:17Now let me be clear, I've been campaigning against this since 2010.

00:21There's a picture of me, that's me in 2015, but all through the years I've campaigned against it.

00:25Why?

00:26Well, firstly, because it was never going to get a penny of private money,

00:31and I thought British governments are bad at doing these things.

00:34And secondly, I thought the whole thing was based on a false premise,

00:37which was, if you have fast trains going to Birmingham, Manchester, maybe over to Leeds,

00:43that it would actually help take business to the north.

00:46What I'd seen with the TGV in France is the opposite.

00:49Actually, when Marseille became three hours from Paris, not six,

00:52we saw firms relocating from Marseille to Paris.

00:56So I fought against it all the way through.

00:59Heidi Alexander, the responsible minister today, spoke to the House of Commons and said,

01:03look, the Tories have been an absolute mess of it.

01:05We're going to slow the thing down, but trust us, we'll deliver it on time.

01:09I asked her, how much had it cost to date?

01:12We are not going to be a country that spends over £30 billion on rail infrastructure,

01:19but then never sees a train running on it.

01:22So here's the argument.

01:25In business, you say the first cut is the best cut,

01:28although there are not many people in Parliament who've ever run a business

01:31or would know what it's like to take a loss.

01:34I remember when it got to £7 billion, I said, for goodness sake, scrap it.

01:38We've now, according to the minister, got to £30 billion.

01:41And yet, I still think we should scrap it,

01:44because I think the final cost of this will be well over.

01:47And by the way, the first estimate was £33 billion.

01:50This is going to cost £100, £150 billion.

01:54Goodness knows what it's going to be.

01:56And I think we could spend that money far better.

01:58In fact, a fraction of that money upgrading railway services all over the country

02:03to the benefit of millions of people,

02:05as opposed to some sort of, you know, really rather well-heeled men and women

02:11going to London for the day.

02:13That's my view.

02:14I believe we should scrap it.

02:15I want your view, please tweet hashtag Farage on GB News

02:19or email farage at gbnews.com.

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