With each new day I find I understand less, not more. I'd always thought the road tax we've always paid went to fix the roads ... ... now it appears Mr Sunak has had to sacrifice the HS2 project to fill in potholes around the country. What a shame that such a 'vital' part of our future has been abandoned for a bit of basic maintenance. And how, after 13 years of a Tory administration have our roads deteriorated, to such an extent, that multi-billions are needed on repairs. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-67441085.amp
It's not just road tax, fuel tax at the forecourt, MOT'S, VAT on spares, insurance, and labour cost's. I am disappointed HS2 isn't going ahead for many reasons, as l have said, we are still using the same railway the Victoria's built nearly 2 hundred years ago. I understand diverting money from one place too another area, but which tory will benefit from this money being shifted which bothers me
Me too mate, it's all really poor. I wasn't thrilled when it was announced but making such a mess of the project makes us look hopeless to foreign investors. After this shambles we don't look like a great place for people to become involved in industry or production. The cost went through the roof, which can happen, but we've very little to show for it all.
2022 “I would love to have a front page of The Telegraph with a plane taking off to Rwanda, that’s my dream, it’s my obsession,” Ms Braverman said. 2015
HS2 was a daft project at the outset in my opinion. A big infrastructure vanity project that was never worthwhile in my opinion. Local rail projects much more beneficial, along with tram networks. The number of people who would benefit from those would far outweigh those getting to london or brum 15 minutes quicker. Dreadful waste of money, but no use chucking good money after bad in my opinion.
I'd agree tbh although improving transport around the NE might be nice for people visiting family or off to the shops ... ... but improved nationwide communications might actually help with this famous 'levelling up' we've heard about. Levelling up is like the Loch Ness Monster ... a huge romantic concept, highly impressive but very little evidence.
Wow, that's a long time ago response marra... Just finished my aldi fillet steak (36 day grass fed... what did it do with the other days of its life?... parking that for another thread ) with a lovely Barolo (£16 offer in Morrisons - will get some more (both))... I wonder what agenda Mr Braverman was running with?
We have some Rail projects going on in this area, Cambridge to Oxford Cross-country route is one which will link with MK and Bedford. Local projects are few and far between, and the loss of local bus routes gathers pace. Councils going bust doesn't help as in the case of Northamptonshire.
Levelling up projects seem to bs happening pretty slowly. I am sure so far around £3.5bn in funding has been awarded. There are quite a few projects in my neck of the woods approved. These include transport projects which make good sense. Some regenerations ones a bit less so buy maybe I will be proved wrong. One of the issues seems to be getting these projects done. I read a recent report somewhere that said a majority of approved projects had not been able to start any sort of construction due to things like inflation and skills shortages. I cant remember the numbers but it wasnt small. There is often a lag between money being granted and benefits achieved, but I do worry that all these projects so far approved, with more to come, wont all be delivered. Would be a shame as a lot of them look really worthwhile for people. I do wonder sometimes if local councils are geared up for some of this sort of thing.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific advisor, now giving evidence to the Covid enquiry ... this will be interesting. It'll probably be another arse-covering blame-shifting shambles where it's always someone else's fault and 'sorry sir, a bigger boy told me to do it' ... ... or perhaps he'll have some decency and honesty. More likely on a par with Dominic Cummings and his eye test nonsense imo.
He's in a very difficult position imo. If he defends his statements, at the Covid press conferences, he's saying he agreed with Boris Johnson. If he doesn't it basically means he was lying and saying what he'd been told to say. Neither is a good look tbh.
