I am ambivalent towards HS2 (I don't live anywhere near the
route), and the recent phase 2 announcements have done nothing to dispel that. If there was a referendum on it, I would instinctively
vote 'no' because it's a huge cost over 20 years (approaching a generation)
which delivers only an incremental improvement to travel.
However, there's the problem ... "instinctively". It is very hard, on this and many other issues facing theUK , for even a reasonably
well-informed member of the public to get to the bottom of the business case.
Quite apart from the technical and financial complexity, there is the political
positioning and obfuscation from all interested parties.
However, there's the problem ... "instinctively". It is very hard, on this and many other issues facing the
I have two radical suggestions:
1. the government strategy should be more about
creating work, communities and culture all over the UK, and less about people
constantly travelling between big cities; the technology of the industrial
revolution encouraged specialisation and centralisation, whereas the technology
of the communications revolution (yes, the one we’re in right now) should
encourage de-centralisation and multi-skilled communities.
2. I should start a 'campaign for clear analysis' (CAMCAN) which will provide a simple business case framework of costs, measurable
benefits, quantified risks and alternatives. This could then be populated
for each major UK
project for the population at large to understand and meaningfully compare.
(This might just be useful for the upcoming EU Referendum.)
