As HS2 began the process of lining up land along its route for purchase, individuals within the team became deeply concerned. They feared that HS2 was wildly underestimating the eventual costs associated with acquiring the land, as well as the shortage of available specialists and the risks of unfairness to those forced to sell. And, they worried that HS2 was being too slow to reckon with the true price tag as it focused on getting political approval to move forward.

Presenter: Kate Lamble

A Whistledown production for BBC Radio 4

To deal with the growing opposition, the government resolved to commit to HS2 by way of a hybrid bill, which would open up opportunities for local communities to object to the route. The original design became mired in hundreds of expensive mitigations, compromises and compensations. Cheaper above ground sections were replaced by costly tunnels. Cuttings and sound barriers began to line huge parts of the route. The project was progressing, but it would have to pay the piper before long.

As specific plans for HS2 were announced, protestors quickly sprang into action, forming campaigning groups and arguing for the line to be fundamentally re-thought. They saw HS2 as an industrial eyesore rammed through the heart of some of Britain’s most beautiful countryside. Communities all along the proposed line were staring down the barrel of massive disruption, from the compulsory purchase of family homes and farms, to the ruination of local ecosystems. A movement was forming, and beginning to define the project in the public eye.

Presenter: Kate Lamble

As the designs for HS2 took shape, the new team behind it set out to prove its value to Ministers and MPs. But as Kate hears, long term flaws were being baked into the project, with an economic justification that centred on outdated assumptions. And, as the designers sought to make the justification, they adjusted the design - making it more expensive. The focus on speed was exciting - but it also distracted from the line’s real purpose. The initial vision was becoming more muddled by the minute.

Kate meets Andrew McNaughton, the man who, in 2009, was given the task of sitting down with a blank piece of paper and designing a new high speed rail line. Ministers across the political aisle were aware of the desperate need for a capacity boost on the creaking West Coast Mainline; and looking for a jolt of optimism in the wake of the financial crash. It was the first new line north of London in over 70 years, and Andrew was venturing out into uncharted territory; he set out to design a futureproof, ambitious solution that would be the envy of the world.

Kate Lamble investigates the extraordinary inside story of Britain's most ambitious and controversial rail project. Listen first on BBC Sounds from Monday 14 July 2025

Understand the UK Election is a simple 10-part guide to everything that is going on in the election, hosted by Adam Fleming.

In this episode, it's all about what happens at the end of the campaign and what everything has been building up to – election day! All you need to know from what happens when the polls open to when we can expect the first results, and how a government is formed.

Hosted by Adam Fleming, from Newscast and AntiSocial with BBC News presenter Reeta Chakrabarti one of the team hosting election night coverage on BBC 1, and Henry Zeffman the BBC’s Chief Political Correspondent who will be on BBC 5 Live and Radio 4 overnight. Also featuring a special message from Peter Snow - the man who was in control of the BBC’s Swingometer for decades.

Producers: Alix Pickles and Alex Lewis

Production Manager: Janet Staples

Editor: Sam Bonham

Understand the UK Election is a simple 10-part guide to everything that is going on in the election, hosted by Adam Fleming.

In this episode, how the election plays out differently across the country and the big impact that the smaller nations that make up the United Kingdom can have on the election outcome.

The host is Adam Fleming, from Newscast and AntiSocial, with James Cook, BBC Scotland Editor, Catrin Haf Jones, Political Correspondent for BBC Wales and Enda McClafferty, BBC Northern Ireland Political Editor.

Producers: Alix Pickles and Alex Lewis

Production Manager: Janet Staples

Editor: Sam Bonham

Understand the UK Election is a simple 10-part guide to everything that is going on in the election, with Adam Fleming.

In this episode, from the front pages of the press to the televised debates; why does what the media says matter and how has social media changed things?

This episode was hosted Adam Fleming, from Newscast and AntiSocial, with David Yelland, former editor of The Sun newspaper and host of Radio 4’s When it hits the fan podcast, and Katie Razzall, the BBC’s News Culture & Media Editor and host of The Media Show also on Radio 4. Also featuring broadcaster and host of many election debates, David Dimbleby.

Producers: Alix Pickles and Alex Lewis

Production Manager: Janet Staples

Editor: Sam Bonham

Understand the UK Election is a simple 10-part guide to everything that is going on in the election, with Adam Fleming.

In this episode, what do polls actually tell us? What can we learn when the polls get it wrong? And do people really tell the truth about who they are intending to vote for?

This episode was hosted Adam Fleming, from Newscast and AntiSocial, with Professor Jane Green, Director of the Nuffield Politics Research Centre at Oxford University, co-director of the British Election Study and President of the British Polling Council.

Producers: Alix Pickles and Alex Lewis

Production Manager: Janet Staples

Editor: Sam Bonham