The UK’s Incredible Shrinking High-Speed Rail: Matthew Brooker

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt are considering further scaling back the UK’s flagship high-speed rail project in search of savings that can be used to fund tax cuts. The decision, if confirmed, would be the perfect symbol of why Britain remains stuck in a low-investment, low-productivity rut.

The ministers are in talks on cutting the northern leg of the network planned from Birmingham to Manchester, the Independent reported Thursday. That could save as much as £34 billion ($42 billion), with the £2.3 billion already spent on this phase being unrecoverable if it’s canceled, the newspaper said, citing a cost ...