Leadership failures in major infrastructure: The HS2 story - with David Parish

Lawrie Philpott of Philpott Black and host of Leadership Listening talks with economist and infrastructure specialist David Parish about the HS2 project and the leadership failures behind it. David recounts how HS2 was conceived from politicians' admiration of high-speed rail in Japan, France, Spain and China, without regard for the UK's very different economic geography. He explains how the Eddington transport strategy was abandoned, how Treasury Green Book appraisal guidance was bypassed, and how HS2 Ltd was set up as a project promotion body rather than an honest evaluator. He and Lawrie explore where leadership accountability should have stopped the project, why no one was held to account, and how the coalition agreement made HS2 politically unstoppable after 2010. They discuss the £100 billion opportunity cost, the role of external advisors, the over-engineering of the project, and the ongoing saga of Old Oak Common and Euston. David offers advice for future politicians and Whitehall on scrutiny and devolution and shares global evidence from Oxford's Bent Flyvbjerg on major project delivery rates. 00:00 Intro 03:12 Why Build HS2? Learning From Abroad 06:18 The Vanity Project Trap 07:35 The Northern Perspective And Local Money 09:05 The £100 Billion Question 10:12 Opportunity Cost And Connectivity 11:09 Abandoning The Eddington Strategy 13:58 The Green Book And Project Appraisal 16:23 Where Does Leadership Lie? 18:14 HS2 Ltd And Leadership Failure 19:22 What Was In The Politicians' Minds 22:13 The Role Of External Advisors 24:57 The 2011 HS2 Report 26:41 Accountability And Public Sector Disasters 30:49 Sunk Costs And Project Modification 31:32 Over-Engineering And Scope Reduction 33:08 Old Oak Common And The Euston Question 34:10 Advice For Future Politicians 35:48 External Scrutiny For Whitehall 37:39 Project Prognosis And Global Evidence 40:04 Closing Questions 42:31 3 Leadership Principles from the conversation   Contact the show! Email: podcast@leadershiplistening.com Head to https://www.leadershiplistening.com/ to explore more videos and search for key topics Watch this episode on YouTube! https://youtu.be/xplYaMgL7qQ Podcast episode: 18 ✅ Subscribe Here: www.youtube.com/@LeadershipListening?sub\_confirmation=1 📱 Follow Us On Socials: Instagram:  / https://www.instagram.com/leadershiplistening LinkedIn:  / https://www.linkedin.com/company/leadershiplistening/ Bluesky: / https://bsky.app/profile/leadershiplisten.bsky.social SUBSCRIBE, SHARE & JOIN US IN TAKING LEADERSHIP TO A BETTER PLACE