Understand - Derailed: The Story of HS2: 6. The Only Friend that Mattered

Download Derailed: The Story of HS2: 6. The Only Friend that Mattered

Revelations about waste and delay have left HS2 in poor shape - and ripe, in the view of its political opponents, for cancellation. But, at the opportune moment, a new Prime Minister arrives. Boris Johnson saw HS2 as a cornerstone of his “levelling up” agenda, and gave it the green light to proceed even as the country wrestled with the emergency of a global pandemic.

Presenter: Kate Lamble
Producer: Robert Nicholson
Executive Producer: Will Yates
Sound Design and Mix: Arlie Adlington

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

Published on Monday, 21st July 2025.

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