Why is infrastructure so costly in the UK?

Three years ago, Boris Johnson reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to construct a high-speed rail link from London to Birmingham and the North. The Cabinet, which included Rishi Sunak, was wedded to what Mr Johnson called “a transport revolution”. He added: “We are going to get this done, and to ensure that we do so without further blow-outs on either cost or schedule, we are today taking decisive action to restore discipline to the programme.” 

The former prime minister conceded that the costs had soared far beyond anything envisaged when HS2 was first mooted in 2009, but this did not detract from its “fundamental value”. 

The project’s ambitions have since been curtailed, but this week, the Government is expected either to scale it back further or subject it to a cost review. However, Mr Johnson’s 2020 statement was based on a review conducted by Douglas Oakervee, a former chairman of HS2. He said this “clinched the case” for carrying on. 

What has changed? Grant Shapps, the Defence Secretary, who until recently was in charge of transport, said it would be “crazy” not to look afresh at HS2 – but the real madness was not to do so many years ago when the costs began to spiral. 

With swathes of the landscape between London and Birmingham scarred by construction work, abandoning the first phase looks unrealistic; and yet it is because costs on this section of the line have risen by a further £8 billion that the northern section may now not go ahead. That will be a hard decision to sell when the Tories gather in Manchester for their annual conference at the weekend. 

It is not only a review of HS2 that is needed but a comprehensive look at why infrastructure projects in this country, from nuclear power stations to new airport runways, are so expensive compared with elsewhere. Most European countries deliver these schemes far more quickly and at far lower cost. 

Why, given Mr Johnson’s promise back in February 2020 to bring fresh discipline to the management of the project, have costs continued to rise? What is it about the British way of delivering infrastructure that makes it so expensive, cumbersome and protracted to build? These are supposed to be long-term plans that will benefit our grandchildren and theirs, just as the Victorian railways do to this day. Why is it so difficult to get anything done anymore?