Boris's relatively quiet start is about to become hugely controversial

After the Boris runwaway election victory, we as a country just seem to have been waiting for the moment when we leave the EU in less than five days' time and then see what happens. Boris has carried on with being prime minister without causing a national stir about anything. But that is all going to change in the next week or so. First there is the HS2 (High Speed) decision, whether to continue with the superfast rail link between London and Birmingham and in a later phase to Manchester and Leeds. Apparently $12 billion has been spent already and much of the required land has been purchased. Despite the ridiculous cost estimated to be more than $100 billion, to scrap it now when Boris has stressed how vital it is to develop infrastructure for the Midlands and North, would be madness. He and the Cabinet must surely approve the project and get on with it and make sure that the costs are brought down. When the Channel Tunnel was beng built, costs rose and rose and there were calls for the whole idea to be scrapped but with the British and French governments determined to get the historic project completed it carried on and today it has transformed travel between the two countries and is seen as a success story. The HS2 rail link must go ahead, although I totally sympathise with those who are going to lose their houses and gardens and, in some cases, villages, to let the rail route run through the middle of England. But, as I have written before, the North desperately needs huge investment and a high-speed rail link will play a key part in improving living and working conditions. So, Boris, yes to HS2, please. As for the other big decisions, on Huawei, trade with the US and trade with the EU, a formula which keeps everyone happy has to be found. It's an industrial decision, a political decision and a diplomatic decision. It's time for Boris to demonstrate he has the intellect and strength of mind and vision to sort through the mass of differing arguments for and against and go for what's best for this country in the long term. There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't negotiate two separate trade deals at the same time, one with the EU and the other with the US, provided enough effort and manpower are provided. The trick will be to avoid pissing off either the US or the EU. Right now, the US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin says he wants a trade deal with the UK by the end of the year, Boris says he wants a trade deal with the EU by the end of the year, and the EU says a trade deal with the UK by the end of the year is impossible. So, go for the US deal and press as hard as possible with the EU to at least try and get a trade deal before, say, the summer of 2021. Mnuchin of course is playing the political game, hoping Boris will do what the Trump administration wants on Huawei and other issues and promising, in return, a big fat trade deal in double quick time. It's unrealistic but Boris might as well play along, although he will need to find a magic formula to please Trump over Huawei and its 5G technology. That may be wishful thinking. But come on Boris, get that brain working. And don't listen too much to certain senior civil servants who seem to be pushing him away from doing anything to please Trump. We HAVE to keep that so-called special relationship intact as well as keep the EU happy. Impossible? Maybe. But that, as they say, is why the prime minister and his cabinet are paid big bucks!