UK electrification schemes cancelled #1

I have tried without success to discover the underlying reason why major UK electrification schemes have been cancelled.

As I understand it, electrification costs have increased due to new regulations which require more generous clearances in relation to 25kV overhead wires and on-train equipment. What I have not been able to find out is where these new regulations have come from. As far as I can mak out, their immediate source is the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR), which has adopted Electricity at Work Regulations. But when and where have these come from? Has there been an input from the EU's regulatory bodies?

If they are an EU requirement, was there an application for derogation having regard to the special circumstances in the UK? If not, why not?

To whom, if anyone, is the ORR answerable?

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