From HS2 to Net Zero, governments have a habit of setting ambitious long-term goals and failing to deliver. Instead of targets, we need long-term plans to fix the nation’s problems, says John Oxley

The New Year almost always brings with it talk of resolutions, intentions and targets. This is true of governments too . In policy documents and manifestos, target numbers abound. Reductions in bad things, acceleration of the good. Yet, like with our own resolutions, the follow-through often tends to be a little harder. This is especially true of those lengthier projects, where governments often lose sight of the end goal.

Indeed, the mid-2020s are already littered with discarded government ambitions. According to the 2018 Heathrow Masterplan, we should be just a year or so away from the completion of the third runway. The original schedule for HS2 thought its first leg would be operational for 2026. After years of inquiries, consultations and vacillations, neither is even close to being ready. They show how bad the government is at keeping........

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