The UK is regulating itself into irrelevance.
The plan was to build 531 km of high-speed rail.
Before laying track, contractors had to:
- Complete a 350-page “social value” assessment
- Guarantee 30% female representation
- Guarantee 20% ethnic-minority representation
The outcome was predictable.
- Original timeline: 2010-2026
- After years of delays and overruns, ~50% of the project was cancelled
- Remaining construction now stretches beyond 2033
- Cost: ~£70B for just 40% of the route (~£311M per km)
Meanwhile, China:
- Built ~50,000 km of high-speed rail in 17 years
- Averaging ~3,000 km per year
- At a cost of ~£14M per km
China builds high-speed rail ~200x faster and ~22x cheaper.
Now apply the same regulatory mindset to the energy transition....
and the scale of waste becomes obvious.