According to the Telegraph, a new proposal submitted to the UK’s airspace regulator could pave the way for a city-wide drone network connecting 12 hospitals across London. The medical logistics firm Apian, which has already carried out 5,000 blood sample deliveries by drone, recently received approval to increase its daily hospital flights from 10 to 40.

For fans of “Anglofuturism”, this is a welcome vision of the future. But rather than a testament to Britain’s ambition to raise living standards by harnessing “the optimism and high modernism of the post-war era”, this in fact shows how strong the country’s vetocracy is.

Compare these drones to the ongoing saga of Heathrow’s new runway. The latter was backed by Tony Blair and several successive prime ministers, yet it remains unbuilt, doing untold damage to Britain’s global connectivity and competitiveness. The British Chambers of Commerce estimates that the programme could deliver £30 billion in economic benefits to the UK over its lifetime, and that each year of delay costs the country around £1 billion.

A desperately needed single strip of tarmac at an existing airport operating above 90% capacity has been stalled for decades due to environmental objections, local resistance and judicial review. But things could have been even worse. Ahead of the last election, Conservative MP Greg Hands, then Minister of State for Trade Policy, launched a constituency campaign to end night flights at the airport.

The NHS drones won’t be received with such public hostility because they will carry the moral authority of the National Health Service. This, it seems, is the only way that economic or technological progress can circumvent the objections, protests, campaigns and paperwork that stymie what seems like every attempt to improve the material conditions of this country. As important as the 100,000 Genomes Project has been in advancing genomic medicine and understanding diseases, it is unthinkable that it would have been allowed to develop as a private venture.

But even then, the moral cover of delivering vital care might not be enough. Last year, plans for a cancer research hospital in Cambridge were challenged due to concerns over local water shortages. The Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff, which now provides specialist cancer services to 1.5 million people in south east Wales, was opposed due to local traffic congestion.

It’s not just Nimbyism that’s stifling innovation, however. In January, research showed that over half of UK businesses (56%) rely on self-funding to drive their R&D efforts. Also, as evidence that Britain is becoming a less dynamic place for technological development and investment, some 88 companies left the London Stock Exchange in 2024 alone. Labour’s current policies are clearly not business-friendly.

The NHS drones will be allowed because of their infrequency over small sections of the capital’s airspace. And while it’s a vital service and a refreshing idea, it’s hardly the return of Concorde of which Anglofuturists dream.

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Tom Jones writes at The Potemkin Village Idiot.

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