WITH the latest estimates suggesting that the HS2 rail project will cost close to £170billion, the TaxPayers’ Alliance (TPA) are fielding a candidate to be the new chairman.
If offered the position when applications close in three weeks, TPA grassroots campaign manager Harry Fone would cut down waste (for example £2.5million was spent on various business expenses in 2019, and £324,000 a year goes in fees for board members who meet once a month) and then scrap the project. He would not accept the annual £200,000 remuneration offered for a three-day week. You can see the job specification here (the successful candidate will be ‘politically astute’), and read Harry Fone’s letter accompanying his application here.
In it he says: ‘High Speed 2 (HS2) is looking for a new chairman, and I think it’s high time that taxpayers’ interests are represented. Even before the coronavirus crisis struck, this was a burden too great for Britain’s hard-pressed households to shoulder. That’s why I am applying for the role of chairman. I know what is needed to make the project successful for key stakeholders, namely British taxpayers: scrapping HS2.’
He has also released a campaign video, which you can see here.
Why I’m standing for HS2 chairman – the TPA’s Harry Fone – YouTube
We will let you know if this first-class candidate is successful.
