40 u-turns and counting, the coalition has a habit of dropping difficult policies. One notable exception is High Speed 2, which is still being keenly promoted. Today, members of a new HS2 growth task force have been announced. The advocates are an impressive selection of council leaders, academics, businessman and trade unions. Their job will be to counter the view that HS2 does not make financial sense.
As Janan Ganesh pointed out in the Financial Times yesterday (£), the government’s enthusiasm for HS2 is in marked contrast to its dithering over airport capacity. But, the public doesn’t share this enthusiasm. The last YouGov poll suggests that 46 per cent are against HS2 and 34 per cent in favour. The task force aims to convince the doubters by broadening the terms of debate, as HS2 Ltd’s Beth West explains:
‘Their collective knowledge will further strengthen our ability to make HS2 a catalyst for Britain’s future prosperity, supporting economic growth and assisting towns and cities to deliver regeneration, skills and jobs’
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