Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander has rounded on critics of HS2 by saying the £50billion high-speed rail project is essential for Britain.
But he also appeared to indicate there was a possibility there might not be enough time to get the HS2 Hybrid Bill through Parliament before the 2015 general election.
In the last few days, Labour has appeared to be cooling towards the scheme, with shadow chancellor Ed Balls questioning whether it might be better for the money to be spent on other schemes.
He told his party’s annual conference he would not “write a blank cheque” for the scheme.
Speaking at an Institution of Civil Engineers transport conference in London Mr Alexander said HS2 and the coalition government’s other transport projects were “absolutely essential to the long-term future of our economy”.
In a dig at those going lukewarm on the scheme, he added: “It would be absolute folly to neglect these long-term benefits for short-term political reasons.”
In a question-and-answer session, Mr Alexander said the government would make sure the Hybrid Bill was delivered “as quickly as possible”.
One questioner, interpreting these remarks as an admission that the legislation might not be completed before the May 2015 General Election, asked what was likely to happen to the Bill if there was a change of government.
In reply, Mr Alexander appeared to backtrack on his earlier remarks by saying: “It is our intention to get it (the Bill) through this Parliament.”
Later at the conference, HS2 Ltd chief executive Alison Munro said she envisaged the scheme being on time and within budget.
She went on: “We have never asked for a blank cheque, neither do we want or need one.”