Why Government should cancel HS2 and channel money into NHS

I HOPE when Covid-19 is under control that the Government will finally cancel the HS2 North/South rail expansion.

More people will be working from home, saving energy, travelling less and using Skype, Facetime etc for consultations and meetings.

The extra land set aside for HS2 should be cancelled and used to grow food, houses (built by the HS2 workforce) and recreation.

Otherwise I can foresee a national outcry if a future government still insists on borrowing billions of pounds to save a few minutes on a journey to London.

Any more borrowing should be channelled towards a 21st century caring NHS. Surely, we all know by now that this makes more sense?

From: Geoffrey North, Shakespeare Road, Guiseley.

I AM dismayed at the lack of management experience reflected in the various questions that journalists aimed at Dominic Raab at the coronavirus briefings.

If the Foreign Secretary has been authorised to step into the shoes of Boris Johnson because of the PM’s incapacity, then he should be the ultimate decision-maker, albeit with assistance from the rest of the Cabinet team.

However, perhaps Dominic could have been more decisive in asserting his delegated authority.

Keeping the allegory, if a surgeon had to make a vital and urgent decision about a patient on the operating table while he or she could have a quick round of views from the operating team, he is the one to make a decision.

In these circumstances, there is no room for a formal democratic vote.

From: Mervyn Jackson, Windmill Rise, Belper, Derbyshire.

TOM Richmond (The Yorkshire Post, April 4) asked if politics is so tribal and toxic that the Prime Minister can’t pick up the phone to seek the assistance of former PMs to help with coronavirus action. The present situation has been compared with a war and, at such times, a coalition government works for the good of the country.

This should be wise idea, but a similar situation existed over Brexit. A coalition would have expedited negotiations with the EU because they could not have exploited our disunity. David Cameron articulated this point when he said that the best thing a former Prime Minister can do is to keep out of the way.

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James Mitchinson

Editor