The very long term project that is HS2 inched another step forward this week when the Secretary of State for Transport published the proposed route from Birmingham up to Manchester and Leeds. I have never been a fan of this project. I just think the amount being spent on a single railway line could have been spent in more innovative ways. My preferred plan would have been to connect fibre to every home. But, as I said during the discussion on ITV’s politics programme this week there is no point trying to continue to fight a battle that has been lost. At the same time as announcing the HS2 phase two route the government also announced the first contracts for phase one and it looks as though the first construction works may well start next year. It will not be until the mid 2030’s before the whole route is up and running so any problems it aims to solve are going to be around for years to come.