HS2
Let’s appoint a Ministry of Scandalous Ideas
My children have a phrase called ‘fomo’ — which stands for ‘fear of missing out’. It is a constant, mildly…
Here’s what I’ve learned in 2014
The countryside is all very well so long as you know you can leave it. Funnily enough, exactly the same…
How HS2 has blighted my parents’ lives
Whether the high-speed rail line is built or not, it is destroying the retirements of people like my parents
Rochester’s special qualities, and the price of Ebola.com
What’s special about Rochester What is special about Rochester and Strood? — Rochester has the second oldest cathedral and school…
My addiction to the bullet train
Stephen Bayley explains why he has become addicted to Japan’s Shinkansen
Sorry, but trains can’t really replace welfare lines
George Osborne proposed an attractive idea this week: that spending on state benefits should be diverted into new infrastructure in…
Adam Smith is the father of more than one sort of economics
Gandhi would test his resolve by sleeping between two naked virgins, an avenue not really open to me, as my…
George Osborne’s cynical grab for northern votes (and why I’m for it)
When John Prescott used to wax garrulous about a ‘superhighway’ from Hull to Liverpool, everyone assumed it was a wheeze…
Spectator letters: The trouble with religion, alternatives to HS2, and whisky-drinking dogs
Old cabby’s tale Stephen Rommei’s London cabby story (Diary, 7 June) reminded me of catching a cab one cold night…
Portrait of the week
Home The British economy grew by 0.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2014, disappointing hotheads who’d expected 1 per cent. It…
Portrait of the week
Home In the Budget, George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, said that the economy was working but the job…
HS2’s boss is right – it’s push on or be rubbed out
I’m sure HS2 chairman Sir David Higgins is right to argue that if we’re serious about building a new north-south…
David Cameron is sending me begging letters
A letter arrives from David Cameron, asking me to vote by post in the European elections. Presumably he means vote…
Melissa Kite: I don't mean to make the transport secretary run across the Savoy ballroom, really I don't
‘Do you know…?’ said the Tory MP I was sitting next to, as he tried to introduce me to the…
High-speed fail
A year ago the electoral strategies of the two main parties seemed set. The Conservatives would stand as the party…
Charles Moore's notes: It's great there's a World Islamic Economic Forum — now can we have a Jewish one?
As I write, the World Islamic Economic Forum is opening in London, the first time it has been held in…
My £30k alternative to HS2
Someone in New York told me this story. I admit that I didn’t believe it when I first heard it.…
Nobody takes a flight from London to Manchester. So why would we take HS2?
From Edinburgh airport there are more than 45 flights a day to London. And, I imagine, the same number back.…
As high speed rail is being dropped in California and France, it's time for Britain to take the hint
The government’s high-speed rail plans will never be implemented
With one cunningly placed number, Boris may have killed HS2
‘Does anyone seriously doubt that this amazing scheme is actually going to go ahead?’ boomed Boris Johnson last week. ‘No…
