Ed Balls has “3 economic tests” for HS2 – here they are…

This morning I suggested that the Ed Balls approach to HS2 was eerily reminiscent of Gordon Brown’s “5 tests” on whether or not Britain should join the Euro. Of course the man behind those economic tests was, in fact, Ed Balls.

Today, speaking to Victoria Derbyshire on Radio 5, Ed Balls outlined the 3 tests he’s setting that HS2 much get to secure Labour support:

“If the case is clear, the benefits are strong, it’s the best way to spend the money and the costs are under control, at that point I would be happy to say we’ll support it. But what I am not going to do is say we support it when the costs are rising, the benefits are unclear and the government are acting like cheerleaders rather than proper stewards of public money.”

Balls hasn’t formalised the tests yet – and I don’t expect him to use this language any time soon, but it’s clear that his 3 tests for HS2 are:

1. the benefits must be clear (presumably in terms of as a growth multiplier and as a means of stimulating growth long term)
2. if it’s the best way to spend the money (if the money wouldn’t be better spent on houses, for example, or improving commuter rail lines)
3. the costs must be under control (if the price rises significantly again, Labour will be out)

It’s a clever line for Balls to take. It casts Labour as the guardians of the public purse against Tory “cheerleaders” for wasteful spending. And it allows Balls to can an expensive spending item (appropriating the funds for something else) under the auspices of HS2 failing to pass eminently sensible tests that any major infrastructure project should obviously pass.

Very clever. Well played…