So you're saying Andy Byford the TFL commissioner, in an article specifically about Bond Street, was talking about something entirely different ... £6 billion of taxpayers money that was used to cover losses in the lockdown. If that's what you're saying then you're just a WUM, it's clearly to do with the subject of the article ... ... what you're saying isn't even slightly credible.
So Bond Street cost 6 billion quid, that's what you're saying? Bloody hell, it's not even a dark blue square on monopoly. I hope Mayfair doesn't need doing any time soon.
I'm not saying that at all. The original point, from @Sunderpitt, was that taxpayers money was used in the project. You said TFL paid it all. "Transport For London paid for Bond Street Station." You're wrong.
TFL (GLA and Khan) asked for the money based on their needs. They decided where it was spent, not the government, who by the looks of it were a bit reticent but made the decision against political considerations in order to stop the business collapsing. As I said, ****ing tories, eh? Keeping TFL afloat when it was most needed, the absolute bastards.
Pointless talking to you tbh. Now you're saying the government just handed TFL £6 billion of taxpayers money, to do whatever they wanted, and had no say in it. Absolutely nonsense
What we have to remember, what is being said, is that the new London Elizabeth Line and Crossrail is of course a huge benefit to all the UK.. NOT Government money was used to fund these new infrastructure works, plus some Business money plus Transport for London (supported by the Gov) The regions are very shortchanged for infrastructure investment. It is generally recognised that the disparity between London and its environs compared to the regions is greater in the UK than that of other developed countries regions and their capital.
And that's the point. No matter what percentage of these glamour projects is paid by taxpayers countrywide it's clear theres virtually no benefit to people in the North. Would London function without them, of course it would. They'll be claiming we need a Royal yacht next
Sums it up nice, well done. It come to something when the odious Tom Watson has been recommended by Kier Starmer to become a lord. Beyond Parliament who are failing the public, the police, and judicial service are doing likewise. If we are failing on the daily migrants who turn up, how would we cope if the 40,000 turn up at the same time. So many areas of modern day society are failing,and the bunch of half wits in Parliament are just tearing each other apart. Pathetic
He'd fit in perfectly with the other odious Lords tbh, if the opposition are dozy that lot are in a coma ... ... you're right about society failing, its actually quite scary.
How did Britishvolt go from charged startup to ‘life support’ patient? Proposed Blyth battery factory attracted serious backers despite founders’ lack of expertise please log in to view this image Artist’s impression issued by Britishvolt of their proposed battery plant in Northumberland.Photograph: Britishvolt/PA When Britishvolt started gaining momentum with its plan to build a giant battery factory in north-east England, its timing could barely have been better. The then prime minister, Boris Johnson, was on the lookout for big projects that could bring jobs to poorer areas of the country and burnish his green credentials. Britishvolt, with its ambition of making hundreds of thousands of batteries a year to power the switch to electric cars from the internal combustion engine, fitted the bill. But less than a year after Johnson praised the “absolutely amazing investment” in parliament, after promising £100m in government support, Britishvolt’s dreams are in jeopardy, with the company considering entering administration. The startup was, on Monday evening, still in talks with potential white-knight investors. However, a source with knowledge of the situation said questions over the status of the government funding – which was dependent on Britishvolt securing expensive equipment – had been an issue for some potential suitors. An insolvency process would probably result in about 275 people being made redundant. A skeleton staff of about 25 would stay around to turn out the lights at a three-year project that had promised to create as many as 3,000 jobs. Britishvolt was incorporated on New Year’s Eve in 2019 by the Swedish businessmen Orral Nadjari and Lars Carlstrom. They set about drumming up investment and media coverage despite starting with no track record with the technology, no source of the £3.8bn in funding they estimated was required and – crucially – no guaranteed customers. Nevertheless, Britishvolt did manage to attract serious backers and genuine interest from major car companies. It signed memorandums of understanding with the British sports car brands Aston Martin Lagonda and Lotus and got to the point of delivering prototypes of the battery cells it hoped to make – albeit made in the government-funded UK Battery Industrialisation Centre rather than in its own facility. On the investment side too, Britishvolt attracted serious backers from among the FTSE 100’s blue-chip companies: Glencore and Ashtead both made equity investments worth tens of millions of pounds apiece, while Tritax, a property investment company owned by abrdn, said it would eventually provide £1.7bn to construct the factory building near Blyth in Northumberland. Yet the company faced mounting difficulties as it spent heavily to develop its technology, to attract senior people and to start construction of its factory. Over the summer, the funding pressures became so acute that it was forced to put the project on “life support” to conserve cash. Both of its co-founders had departed by August this year. Ex-Ford executive Graham Hoare led an effort to professionalise the operation, amid questions over extravagant practices within the startup, revealed by the Guardian. They included leasing a seven-bedroom £2.8m mansion with an indoor swimming pool and Jacuzzi for executives, hiring a Dubai-based fitness instructor to conduct yoga classes for staff over video, and travelling in a private jet owned by one of its billionaire shareholders. The proposed site is still a muddy field, albeit with some important earthworks having been carried out. However, there is still thought to be significant interest in the property, whether or not Britishvolt survives
"Proposed Blyth battery factory attracted serious backers despite founders’ lack of expertise." Was one of these Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng by aany chance
I shouldn't laugh but Coma did make me titter. Seriously though we are a failing society and it's very scary, l really don't need to point out health and care, the massive gap between rich and poor.
Sadly we hand out hundreds of thousands, every year, to Lords who never bother to show up, speak or make a difference ... ... probably the kind who are absolutely outraged at 'those blasted benefit scroungers'
I watch a lot of parliament when I am working and with the exception of PMQ’s and Ministers Statements it's normally very civil with contributions from all sides to the debate. However every political party has a responsibility to the electorate, to its party members and to its sponsors and should conduct their business in the interest of those groups. The time to take sides is at a General Election, once the electorate make their decision we are all in the same boat and impacted by every decision the democratically elected government makes. Politics is a dirty world, always has been and always will be, so to compare it to a group of academics offering scrutiny to a piece of work is naive. It isn’t the opposition’s job to fix governments mistakes, it is their job to either support the government when they are right or to tell them when they are wrong. I don’t think I have ever heard a debate in parliament, including PMQ’s, where alternative ideas haven’t been put forward, that’s normally where the derision and abuse comes in. It is also worth remembering that it is the job of any party leader to win the next election so they need to remain true to the principles of their manifesto which many people voted for. The fundamental principles of each party are different so the pathway of the incumbent government will never converge with that of the opposition, if they continuously agreed and helped to sort out every decision made by government there would be no point elections and we would become a single party state. In the last few months the current government adopted two of Starmers ideas, the energy cap and the windfall tax, now I take a great interest in politics and current affairs but for the life of me I can’t recall Starmer being credited in either Bill when they passed through parliament. I have always been better off financially under a Conservative government and hold many conservative views, but I would never vote for them because of their stance on Welfare and the NHS, I wouldn’t call that partisan, I would call it a social conscience.
They will have given them money based upon their funding model - in the link I provided above. Fares were 4.9 billion of that revenue. Do you think nigh on 700 million for a massively over budget Bond Street was even mentioned to a potentially hostile government in the request?
A 'celebrity' who's outstanding moment, for which he'll be remembered, is breaking the Covid rules he'd repeatedly told us to obey ... ... although being snubbed, by the latest PM, on the steps of Number 10 was hilarious tbf.
