HS2’s moment of truth

Abstract

A new report from the House of Lords has raised serious questions about the cost, business case and justification for the UK’s long-planned new high-speed railway, HS2. It comes amid official warnings that the £55.7bn cost estimate would be substantially superseded, and the appointment by Prime Minister Boris Johnson of advisors openly hostile to the scheme. The government’s full business case for Phase 1 was due in April, but has been postponed. Johnson himself has ordered his own review. We explore here the lords’ criticisms and ask if the project can survive the latest round of scrutiny.

Notes

¹ In a Tweet on 20 May 2019. https://twitter.com/mragilligan/status/1130513081119969282.

² https://dominiccummings.com/2014/05/13/babble-in-the-bubble-ufsm-clegg-and-the-general-dysfunction-of-the-british-state/.

³ https://dominiccummings.com/2019/03/01/on-the-referendum-31-project-maven-procurement-lollapalooza-results-nuclear-agi-safety/.

⁴ http://stophs2.org/news/18535-stop-hs2-calls-police-investigation-hs2-chair-project-30bn.

⁵ https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/boris-johnson-hs2-cost-more-16653605.