ONE of the major problems in persuading people to switch to electric vehicles is the lack of charging points.

After all, who would want to set out on a journey without knowing that there would be charging points readily available en route?

If the government would come to its senses and dump HS2 - for which the latest figure has now ballooned to almost £60 billion, nearly double the original estimated 2010 cost of £32 billion - there’d be enough money available to provide an electric vehicle charging point on almost every street corner in the country - with plenty left over.

What is more important? Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, the use of which is having devastating effects upon the planet, or shaving 20 minutes off the time it takes to travel by train from London to Birmingham?

HS2 is a costly vanity project, already widely regarded by many as something of a white elephant, which would have very little if any impact on the overall quality of our lives.

The term ‘white elephant’ by the way derives from the practice that Thai kings had of giving presents of rare white (albino) elephants, which were regarded as sacred, to subjects who had upset them. The elephants were expensive to keep - requiring special food and the recipient of the gift was required to provide facilities for worshippers of the beast to visit and pay their respects, which usually resulted in financial ruin.

Think about it!

ROBERT READMAN

Norwich Avenue West, Bournemouth