The real scandal of HS2
For some reason a Conservative government then decided the state should handle HS2, in spite of the lousy record of civil servants in managing such projects
That will be more than quarter of a century after the then-Conservative government decided to go ahead with it. In the first 25 years of railway history, which began two centuries ago this year, the country was transformed by railways. Lines stretched across the country, all built without the aid of a single bulldozer. In the modern age, with all the earth-moving equipment in the world, all we will have achieved is to duplicate a line from London to Birmingham. And for that we will have paid upwards of £54 billion – although does anyone really believe that that figure, the latest official estimate, will be the last upwards revision?
I can't disagree with Alexander when she says that the last Conservative government, through HS2, have turned UK national infrastructure projects into a 'laughing stock'. She will be reporting the findings of the latest review into HS2 (by John Stewart, the former chief executive of another rail project which overran, Crossrail) which is reported to have uncovered numerous examples of contractors inflating costs. She will be right to announce that some may be investigated for fraud.
HS2 is a huge blot on the copybook of the Conservative government which had several chances to cancel the project before it got out of hand. As I reported here in 2012, Cameron's cabinet at that stage was on the point of pulling the plug. Boris Johnson had another chance in 2020, when Lord Berkeley told him the costs had run 'completely out of control' and that it was now expected to cost more than £100 billion. Yet he went ahead anyway, without any obvious answer as to how the costs would be brought under control.
HS2 was ill-conceived from the start. It was over-engineered with a needlessly high line speed of 225 mph (150 mph would have been fine given that all the cities which are connected by the project are within 200 miles of each other). It bypassed places like Coventry and Stoke-on-Trent which it ought to have been serving. But the scandal of HS2 goes way beyond the railway itself. It is an object lesson in how not to undertake infrastructure projects: by setting up a state-owned company and putting the bill on the taxpayer.
HS1 – from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel – was built with private capital. It wasn't free of issues, but it was built to a reasonable timeframe. For some reason a Conservative government then decided the state should handle HS2, in spite of the lousy record of civil servants in managing such projects. You could almost hear the contractors licking their lips.
Labour is quite justified in damning the Tories for HS2 – David Cameron's government, after all, was supposed to be committed to bringing the public finances back into balance. Yet Labour can't seem to see it is about to repeat the mistake with Sizewell C. There, the circumstances are similar. Hinkley C is being built with private finance, with French energy company EDF taking the financial risk. EDF, indeed, has burned its fingers a bit. So what has Starmer's government done? It has decide to go ahead with a second nuclear power station, almost identical in its troublesome design, but this time built entirely with public money. What could possibly go wrong? I'm not booking my ticket on HS2 just yet, but I am prepared to place a bet that Sizewell C will be the next UK infrastructure disaster.
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The Herald Scotland
26 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
I found Sarah Vine's book unexpectedly heart-wrenching
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Ms Vine though, is a proper old-school journalist who has held down most jobs in the gnarly business of producing newsprint. There's no question of her not having earned her position. I was once asked what had made the Mail so popular across all classes in England. The best I could come up with was that they represented the Margo Leadbetter character in The Good Life. In one episode, she's in a long Post Office queue being truculently fobbed off at the counter. 'I am the voice of the Silent Majority,' she'd said. Margo seemed to embody those English stereotypes we both love and hate: of enduring challenges with stalwart resilience because, well … being English obliges you to care without showing it; to be silent in adversity, confident perhaps that you'll have your moment and that it will be a terrible one indeed. I love them for it and loathe them in equal measure. 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It's dreadful and exceedingly low-calibre, showing a woman lying fully prone and face down. It channels an energy that's entirely at odds with the dynamics of Ms Vine's rise, fall and recovery. How Not to be a Political Wife: HarperCollins £20
Scotsman
43 minutes ago
- Scotsman
Polarising Donald Trump's North Sea comments tapped into growing frustration
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Telegraph
44 minutes ago
- Telegraph
What does it mean to be an ‘authentic conservative'? Three writers give their view
Kemi Badenoch has urged Conservative MPs to'take an authentically conservative position'. What does that mean? Paul Goodman recently wrote in our pages on how he interprets the phrase. We have now asked three more Conservative politicians (who also happen to be conservative thinkers) to write on how they interpret it. Bill Cash was Chair of the European Scrutiny Committee between 2010 and 2024 and Shadow Attorney General between 2001 and 2003; Jesse Norman is shadow Leader of the House and a biographer of Edmund Burke and Adam Smith; Neil O'Brien is shadow minister for policy renewal and development. Bill Cash: it is about affirming our democratic sovereignty The Conservative Party's authenticity comes from values and principles that serve the national interest. This has been the case since Edmund Burke. Reform, with their misleading claims and no solutions, has gained some traction on us. But all is not lost. Our beliefs have sustained us for 250 years: when Robert Peel resigned in the national interest because his party in Parliament would not repeal the Corn Laws, his nemesis Benjamin Disraeli ultimately agreed and stated: 'The Tory Party is a national party or it is nothing.' Disraeli then came to accept John Bright's campaign and a successful extension of the franchise for modern democracy in 1867. Winston Churchill preferred 'country first, constituency second, party third.' Margaret Thatcher in 1975 replaced Heath and, later, at the Bruges speech in 1988, paved the way for our restoration of democratic self-government on the European issue. This was despite opposition from within her Cabinet. Boris Johnson ensured Brexit and removed the whip from 27 Remainers in the Party in 2019 who sided with Labour. Authentic Conservatism thus includes rejecting subjugation to European Union laws and jurisdiction, and promotes the Brexit freedoms by self-government and prosperity through small businesses and deregulation, lower taxation, property ownership and inheritance, family values, free speech, proportional fairness not wokery, defence with Nato and the full restoration of the Union itself, including Northern Ireland and border control. It includes overcoming the catastrophes of net and illegal migration. This means leaving the ECHR, with clear and unambiguous Acts of Parliament to override international law on the Supreme Court's own principle of legality. The Conservative Party must now decisively insist on being united in getting this principle right and repudiating Keir Starmer's EU/UK reset with its dynamic alignment which undermines the authentic Conservative insistence on democratic sovereignty. Jesse Norman: it is about practical solutions that serve Britain Conservatism in Britain has never been a slogan or a cult of personality. It is a tradition arising from our history, our Parliament and our constitution. At its best, conservatism distrusts ideology and its easy certainties, let alone the rootless and corrosive flattery of populism. Real conservatism is practical. It knows that our liberties and prosperity come from hard work, and the long grind of political reform. It respects the grain of this country: our armed forces, schools and, yes, universities; the Church, the charities and local councils that knit communities together. It insists that the Government should help people to take responsibility for their lives, not grab powers to itself. As a political party, the Conservatives have been repeatedly attacked for their record after 2010. But in many places the story is a notable one and worthy of robust defence: the long, slow recovery from the global financial crisis to which Labour had left this country so exposed; massively effective schools reform; the gradual introduction of universal credit, which performed brilliantly during the pandemic; our immediate and resolute support for Ukraine after it was invaded by Russia in 2022. Why did these initiatives succeed? Because they were inspired by core conservative principles of fiscal prudence, the desire to reform public services and the defence of Europe. But Conservatives should also accept that some decisions after 2010 were not conservative. Interventions in Libya and Syria were marked more by speed than prudence. Major projects such as HS2 were launched without the care and scrutiny they demanded. Net zero was agreed after one short Commons debate. Inadequate steps were taken to curb legal and illegal migration. A succession of referendums unsettled our constitutional balance and exposed deep national divisions. The lesson is clear. Conservatism works when it is steady, serious, and focused on practical solutions that reflect its core belief in preserving what is best in British society. Neil O'Brien: it is about accountability Conservatives believe in accountability. Since the Blair era we have seen far too much power handed to law courts, quangos and international bodies that aren't accountable to the British public. Power without accountability means bad decisions. This has created a topsy-turvy, two-tier Britain: the rights of prolific criminals, illegal immigrants and benefit claimants are prioritised over the rights of the law-abiding and hard-working. Rule by lawyers also explains why we can't cut welfare spending or build the infrastructure we need to grow. We also believe in order. The first duty of the Government is to keep citizens safe. That means a return to no-nonsense policing. We should be focused on catching criminals, not policing what people say or think. And it means ending endless community sentences and slaps on the wrist for serious crimes. Conservatives know that a disorderly environment breeds anti-social behaviour and crime. Yet under Labour our capital stinks of weed, tube trains are covered in graffiti and petty crimes like fare dodging are becoming normalised. Conservatives believe in the nation. We took back control from the EU. We must now drastically cut immigration. As Kemi Badenoch says: the country must be 'a home, not a hotel'. We can't have a strong, united nation with a transient and constantly churning population. We also believe in the family and individual responsibility. Fairness means people getting what they deserve based on their individual actions and merits. People should be able to build something up – a family home, a farm, a business, some savings – without it being plundered by the Government. It means welfare for those who really need it, not a system that costs taxpayers ever more and traps people in a cycle of dependency. And conservatives believe in free markets. Under Labour we are in an economic doom loop. Higher taxation and more regulation lead to stagnation. Higher borrowing sends the Chancellor scrambling for yet higher taxes. Massive changes are needed to break out of this spiral, and make Britain a good place to grow a business. We believe in sound money: unlike others, we will not make fantasy promises that can never be delivered.
