article_snippet: the country'
  Ed Balls said: 'Getting on and doing East-West now is the priority.'
article_snippet: the country'
  Ed Balls was speaking after a cross-party House of Lords inquiry warned that the Government had failed to 'make a convincing case' for the high speed rail line and concluded that improving East-West rail links might do more good for the economy.
article_snippet: the country'
  Ed Balls said: 'I will want to be discussing how we can improve east-west links with David Higgins from day one
article_snippet: and I think that is something we get on with quickly while we ask big questions about the second phase of HS2.'
article_snippet: the country'
  Ed Balls added: 'The idea that we wait to do East-West until after we have done the second phase of north-south is topsy turvy.
article_snippet: Why would you decide to spend 20 years improving north-south links before, finally, in the third phase, coming to East-West? '
article_snippet: I think getting on and doing East-West now is the priority.'