Hinkley Point C might be delayed again. Why? Because Natural England say the £700 million spent on fish protection at Britain's next nuclear power station is not enough. We can't go on like this.

How did we spend 1/4 of a billion pounds on the Botley Road bridge? For all the issues around Victorian flood defences and the muddle of accountable bodies, we must see the bigger picture of it costing too much to build anything in Britain, @Sam_Dumitriu tells @BBCPM.

Why doesn’t Britain have as many trams as France and Germany? Answer: Cost. We pay roughly twice as much to build a kilometre of track. (And some projects cost a lot more!) Why is it so expensive? One challenge is the cost of moving wires and pipes. Our kit is older, badly mapped, and water/power companies get to pass the cost of utility diversions to the taxpayer when we try to build trams. We also need to move more because we have deeper track-beds. Today, I visited Coventry where they are trying a new approach known as ‘Universal Track’. It only goes 30cm (I.e. a school ruler’s length) deep, unlike existing approaches that go 60-90cm deep. That’s above most utilities in most place. It also uses less concrete. They reckon it’s much cheaper as a result. Potentially half the cost of a normal track. It was originally invented for their smaller ‘Very Light Rail’, but they’ve since learnt it’s strong enough to take full-size trams. They hope to have it commercially available in two years.

My latest for @spectator on the avoidable mistakes and unlearnt lessons that explain how it can take three years and cost £237m to upgrade a single railway bridge. spectator.com/article/why-do…

It's easy to get in a muddle about data centres. Differences in assumptions and definitions mean estimates vary massively on how many there are and how much power and water they use. @Sam_Dumitriu assesses some of the more alarming claims. samdumitriu.com/p/no-data-ce…

Pretty depressing that in modern Britain it takes three years and £237m to build something like... this. As @BritainRemade have pointed out, the Faroe Islands opened the Sandoy Tunnel in 2023 after spending £99m (£107m in today's money) over about four years. It is 10 kilometres long.

Just under a week to go until our reception on a boat at Labour Party conference with Minister for Growth @dantomlinsonmp Join us at the Daffodil Bar, floating at Canning Dock, at 4.30pm on Sunday 27 September. Register your interest below: luma.com/yh6ajwxv?tk=Nd3BjB

Join us and Minister for Growth @dantomlinsonmp on a boat at Labour Party conference at 4.30pm on Sunday 27 September. You'll find the venue, The Daffodil Bar, floating at Canning Dock. Register your interest below. luma.com/yh6ajwxv

Hinkley’s reactors will eventually produce electricity. The salient question is whether Britain’s democracy is still capable of producing decisions.

Probably a sensible time to make the slightly delayed announcement that I have joined @BritainRemade as a policy researcher and have published my first substack on how high electricity prices make it tough for us to do good science!

The Chancellor just announced a 'Rail Cost Review' modelled on the Fingleton Review. Here's why it's needed. @BritainRemade/@BritishProgress analysis found British rail projects cost on average 93% more than what they cost in other major developed economies.

Don't forget to join us at 6pm in the Union Room at Reform Conference today for drinks and a discussion with @tomhfh. Register your interest below. luma.com/nvkjbqpb

Join us for a chat on just how broken Britain really is at 6pm Friday, Reform Party conference 👇

If you're going to be at Reform conference, come and say hi!

For our first session of the conference season @sjarichards will be in conversation with @tomhfh at @reformparty_uk's event to discuss why nothing works in Britain. Register your interest now for discussion and drinks at 6pm on Friday in the Union room. luma.com/nvkjbqpb

A housing shortage is a bedroom shortage. So plans to make it easier for homeowners to build granny flats and loft extensions could make a big difference in England. politico.eu/article/labour-a…

Come work with me!

Passionate about getting Britain building again? Want to work for the nation’s leading pro-growth campaign? Less than a week left to apply to become our new Campaigns and Operations Assistant: britainremade.co.uk/jobs

Here's my verdict on Labour's rewrite of the new National Planning Policy Framework: - Building on the 'Train Belt' could radically boost supply, but by insisting on extremely high affordable housing shares (up to 50%) many projects won't get off the ground. - However, the policy on building up and out (into big back gardens) has been strengthened. It may not have led the Government's PR, but I suspect it will be the most powerful pro-building move in the new NPPF. samdumitriu.com/p/the-really…

1/ Alongside the new NPPF that @Sam_Dumitriu will write about later, the Government has quietly watered down plans to reform the role of quangos in the planning system, pulling back their proposal to remove Sport England as a stat con: gov.uk/government/consultati… This is a mistake - and it’s important to understand why. It’s not really about sport. It’s about who runs Britain.