High Speed 2 Reset

Debate between Heidi Alexander and Rupa Huq

Tuesday 19th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

I welcome the honesty and clarity, after years of sitting opposite the Conservatives and not knowing whether HS2 was happening at all, or where it would start and stop—it was going to be a Y-shape in the beginning. This is good news, in a way. I echo the praise for Mark Wild, who has met with my residents, and for Lord Hendy in the other place. However, for my residents in Old Oak Common—this fabled area that was once going to be the terminus—the ever-lengthening timeline is disappointing. Will the Secretary of State consider opening the Elizabeth line station a bit earlier? Some new builds, such as Oaklands Rise, were promised that there would be a brand-new station in 2026, so surely there should be something in it for them before 2039.

[Heidi Alexander]

My hon. Friend is right to highlight that development around Old Oak Common is proceeding in advance of the completion of the rail network. I am pleased that the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation has gone out to find a development partner to build 8,000 new homes in the area, with potentially 1,000 of them starting in this Parliament. We need to ensure that there is adequate public transport provision for any homes and development that happen to provide for new residents. I will take away her specific point about the Elizabeth line; I am not entirely sure of its feasibility, but I will come back to her with more detail.

HS2 Reset

Debate between Heidi Alexander and Rupa Huq

Wednesday 18th June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Heidi Alexander]

The hon. Gentleman tempts me to talk about the Dawlish scheme. I must admit that it is a topic I will need to take up with the Rail Minister, and I will be happy to give the hon. Gentleman a response in writing in respect of the merits of the scheme.

[Dr Rupa Huq (Ealing Central and Acton) (Lab)]

I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for her honesty as she set out this latest reset, necessitated by the mess that the Tories left. Old Oak Common is part of my constituency, and this week eight associations across two boroughs have banded together to create the Old Oak Alliance, with the purpose of fighting for compensation and mitigation in the current circumstances. They will be bitterly disappointed by the news of even more prolonged disruption. Will my right hon. Friend meet me—or, better still, come on a site visit to meet them and see what they are putting up with? We are dealing with a company whose idea of engagement is jam tomorrow and death by PowerPoint.

[Heidi Alexander]

I am sure the leadership of HS2 would be very concerned to hear that description of the way that the project is engaging with local people. That is not what I expect of an infrastructure company, and I am sure it is not what the chief executive of HS2 Ltd would want either. I would be very happy to meet my hon. Friend.