From the railways to the NHS – why can’t Britain think anything through? | Ian Jack

The saga of delayed and failed rail electrification suggests our politicians and officials are more comfortable with talking than with deliberation• Ian Jack is a Guardian columnistThe line from Gospel Oak to Barking used to be one of London’s more obscure railways, looping 14 miles through the northern and eastern suburbs and never penetrating the capital’s centre. A railway enthusiast could have told you that the boat trains from Tilbury to St Pancras used to use it – fo