I could see the sense in a project that could help rejuvenate areas of the UK that desperately need it, but all the wasted money if it never goes ahead aside, it would not provide any benefit really to the very areas that need help. Most of the work would go overseas, and, when completed, bit like the wonderful Garden Projects of Fuhrer Thatcher, the weeds will gather in the towns and cities where no increase in jobs has happened at all! Look what a great success the Garden project was in Stoke! Yeah, waste of money!
All this will do if it does go ahead is make us even more a Capital City centric economy, everyone move to the South East and concrete it over completely! How many more new jobs has the faster link to Norwich provided, apart from estate agents to see over priced property to London Commuters that local people can no longer afford? I travel to London and back very frequently from Manchester by train, whether it takes me 2 hours or 1Hour 30 minutes is pretty irrelevant, no significant advantage at all. If it is 1 hour from Birmingham it might make it easier for someone in Finance to live in Solihull and work in the City -- how does that benefit Birmingham?
Imagine having £80bn to subsidise manufacturing Industries, and we are very good at precision engineering, (who knew that final drive gearboxes for American Nuclear Submarines were made in Yorkshire???), to help fund apprenticeships, to fund redevelopment of places like Salford, Wigan, Preston, Sunderland, Govan etc.?
Aha, could it be the usual, all the service jobs it will create in already wealthy areas, votes, votes, votes!!
Such a shame our last Revolution was so long ago, perhaps it is time .....................