ALEX BRUMMER: Britain must harness its science and engineering prowess to deliver lasting

Britain has immense vision and ambition for big projects to drive higher productivity and a better economic future.

But the ability of government, regulators and managers to deliver is feeble.

Advocates of HS2 cannot but be appalled by the way that public confidence in a transforming infrastructure project is being undermined by leadership upheavals, budget over-runs and internecine wars over the Euston terminal in London.

The scheme has only become ‘unachievable,’ in the words of the Infrastructure & Projects Authority, because those responsible for the system became bogged down in planning disputes and ballooning costs. 

The benefits of high-speed travel and the fast growing economic zones which follow are evident across the globe from Japan to France.

World leader: The UK, with its world class research universities, needs to be a key player sucking in skills from across the globe

The Great British Nuclear project could suffer a similar fate. As former Rolls-Royce boss Sir John Rose told the Mail on Sunday, it is self-defeating for the Government to be putting out the contract for Small Modular Reactors (SMR) to tender.

The UK has already committed £200million to the project and Rolls-Royce has pioneering technology. 

Overseas electrical giants GEC and Hitachi stand ready to eat the UK’s cake. Former Business Secretary Greg Clark, now chairing a Commons science and technology committee, argues the UK’s plan to deliver 24-gigawats of nuclear energy by 2050 requires investment three times our current capacity. 

Beyond Hinkley Point 3 in Somerset, where EDF is delivering, plans are so nebulous as to be almost worthless.

Then there is Horizon. The Windsor Framework signalled that the UK could re-join the EU’s flagship £82billion science project.

The UK, with its world class research universities, needs to be a key player sucking in skills from across the globe. Instead, Britain’s participation is being held up by pettifogging disputes over the fiscal contribution. 

The UK’s life sciences firms and universities are desperate to prevent a brain drain of talent and facilities. 

With willpower, Britain is capable of amazing engineering. Users of the Elizabeth Line could provide testimony to that. The Thames Tideway is moving towards completion.

There is much unfinished infrastructure work, including the third runway at Heathrow. The bounce back in the skies this year makes it clear that the UK will need a new runway in the face of Continental and Gulf competition.

Unless Britain is bold and starts delivering, using our science and engineering prowess, the country will slip further down the output-per-capita G7 league table.

Fibre optics

BT chairman Adam Crozier and the BT board lost no time in choosing a chief executive to replace Philip Jansen.

The selection of non-executive director Allison Kirkby, with a track record at Sweden’s telecommunications giant Telia, looks sensible. 

Her appointment means that BT and Vodafone, Britain’s underperforming telecoms giants, will have women at the controls. Margherita Della Valle moved in the ‘C suite’ at Vodafone in April.

Kirkby’s first task is execution. BT is on a promise to deliver full-fibre broadband to the whole of the UK by 2026 and has committed £12billion to the project. 

The importance of connecting up Britain should not be under-estimated. Faster growing economies, such as South Korea and Spain, managed to get there first. 

Jansen recognised this had to be done and won £5billion or so of support from government. But he has been frustrated by the inability to turn around a sagging share price.

Among the less compelling tasks for Kirkby will be to dismantle the 55,000 army of technicians rolling out the fast fibre. 

As if that isn’t enough she also is saddled with the Patrick Drahi overhang. The Swiss-Israeli billionaire – who has been building a stake in BT – may not be done yet.

Tobacco road

BAT rightly is not in the mood to give up a London listing dating back to 1912.

This is in spite of the urgings of US-based investor GQG. The tobacco group’s recently appointed Brazilian chief executive Tadeu Marroco notes that Wall Street has full access to BAT equity through American depositary receipts (ADRs). 

Moreover, BAT might, for ethical reasons, have difficulty landing in a US index.

In resisting a shift, BAT follows the lead of two other FTSE giants, HSBC and Unilever. 

When they explored the height of the fences, they eventually pulled up. Another defeat for the City’s detractors.