HS2
Boris's rail betrayal is no surprise
A promise made is merely a promise waiting to be broken. If events complicate life for all governments it is…
Portrait of the week: Hotel quarantine starts, Ribblehead Viaduct cracks and a royal guest for Oprah
Home The target was achieved of vaccinating, by the middle of February, about 15 million people of 70 or over,…
Will remote-working strengthen the case for HS2?
Soon after the pandemic hit, the world’s airlines turned off their pricing algorithms and resumed pricing flights manually. Everything the…
Borrow-and-spend Boris risks repeating Gordon Brown’s mistakes
The nature of the Johnson government is still not clear, but has become more so with the announcement this week…
Portrait of the week: Britain rules on coronavirus, HS2 is approved and Bernie Sanders powers ahead
Home The Department of Health classified the novel coronavirus (named by the World Health Organization Covid-19) as a ‘serious and imminent…
Does anyone really think HS2 will be good for the country?
How depressed should one be about the HS2 go-ahead? The cost is stupefying. The offering to the north — considered…
The real reason I am against HS2
Some years ago, two British supermarket chains needed to place a large order for replacement trollies. They had to decide…
How much public income does the royal family receive?
Parliamentary motions The government floated the idea of moving the House of Lords permanently to York. Until it was found…
HS2’s completion is as likely as King Harry’s coronation
Seven years ago, when HS2 was still officially costed at £33 billion, I wrote that I was looking forward to…
There will never be a better time for Tory radicalism. Is Boris ready?
What is the point of a Conservative majority? The answer might once have been to implement Conservative policies. But now…
There is a far better option than HS2 – and it already exists
Just 48 hours before the conclusion of the Conservative leadership contest, Allan Cook, chairman of HS2, wrote to the government…
Letters: Britain needs HS2
Moaning minnie MPs Sir: I was recently quoted in the Sun newspaper in a story about how MPs were reacting…
From a solar-powered bin to HS2: the destruction of my childhood home
My mother is a classy lady. I have always known this, but it still affected me in a way I…
The financial logic behind HS2 is collapsing. It’s time to pull the plug
No one is in any doubt about the problem facing Britain’s railways. Over the past decade, rail fares have risen…
Why HS2 doesn’t stand up to the test of time
In past years, I have been a critic of HS2. I might now change my mind. One simple tweak might…
How Ebenezer Grayling destroyed the Kite family Christmas
Ebenezer Grayling sat busy in his counting house. It was a cold, bleak day at the Department for Transport. Big…
Portrait of the week
Home Theresa May, the Prime Minister, invited the media to take a photograph of her beginning a holiday with her…
Don’t believe the Tory grumbling: HS2 is on the way
There’s a lot of negativity around HS2, and I sniff a Brexit connection. You might think Leave campaigners whose aim…
The left-wing lunacy of Tooting Honey Toilets
‘Sadly, the world is filled with apathy,’ said my friend, as we looked at our sad little list of conscripts…
The most important test that HS2 doesn’t pass
Despite my opposition to High Speed 2, I am quite a big fan of HS1, the line which runs from…
This is what every menu should look like
The appallingly bad photograph below was taken on my mobile phone about 15 years ago. It shows the menu layout…
Heathrow and the strange, far-off days when Britain actually built things
Heathrow. The whole British story is there. Reading up around that debacle last week, I came across the eye-watering —…
My rich leftie neighbours must be in a state of psychotic denial — or stoned
The ‘I’m Voting For Chuka’ posters in my rich neighbours’ front windows pushed me over the edge. There is nothing…
Nigel Lawson’s diary: Escaping election tedium in la France profonde
I have escaped this rather depressing election campaign by retreating to my home in la France profonde — to be…
Letters: Why Ofsted should be disbanded
Disband Ofsted Sir: Dennis Sewell’s damning indictment of Ofsted (‘Ofsted in the dock’, 13 December) stopped short of the logical…
