Yes, you do. Because just when you think that London, after all it’s had so far, can’t get greedier yet, along comes Crossrail 2. The ‘National’ Infrastructure Commission last week recommended that the scheme – a north-south rail link across the capital – should be funded at once, “as a priority”, so it can openContinueContinue reading “More, or Less? You Choose”
Tag Archives: Transport
Infra Digging
Public opinion remains divided over the wisdom of bombing Syria. Much less so than the House of Commons, which this week allowed the red mist of ‘hitting evil hard’ to out-vote reasonable doubts over what military action can achieve without a lasting political solution in sight. Who benefits, besides the suppliers of Brimstone missiles atContinueContinue reading “Infra Digging”
Gearing Up
Surveyoris the magazine for highways and transport professionals. This month’s issue is headlined ‘Return of the Regions’ and opens to reveal an editorial by Dominic Browne, and more besides. The editorial starts as follows:“In January of this year the Department for Transport (DfT) launched a small (by government standards) pilot competition for local authorities toContinueContinue reading “Gearing Up”
History Made Here
G K Chesterton is often misquoted as saying that those who argue that ‘you can’t put the clock back’ obviously know nothing about clocks. It’s near enough to what he did write – that time only moves forwards but principles needn’t – to let stand. What’s more, we’re seeing plenty of evidence of it justContinueContinue reading “History Made Here”
Pass It On
Nowadays, the Conservatives have a tree as their emblem, symbolic of the countless trees to be felled thanks to them and their allies (Labour, FibDem, even Green) as the urbanisation of England rolls onwards. The emblem used to be a flaming torch, the same symbol that used to warn motorists of a school ahead, beforeContinueContinue reading “Pass It On”
Zombie Zones
Last Saturday, a ‘Northern Citizens’ Convention’ was held in the West Riding town of Huddersfield. Those attending shared a determination that the new politics now saturating Scotland should not stop at the border. Our Northumbrian friends have good reason to see themselves as having more in common – politically, economically and culturally – with ScotlandContinueContinue reading “Zombie Zones”
The Extravagance of Austerity
Good chancellor, bad chancellor. George Osborne played a little double act with himself this week. It started with lots of spending announcements. A whopping £15.1 billion on roads and £2.3 billion on flood defences. Oh, and Bicester is to be a new town.Then there was the Autumn Statement, seized on with the claim that publicContinueContinue reading “The Extravagance of Austerity”
We Are Not London
We know where London is, but is the rest of England also London? It seems that the London regime would like to make it so. Manchester has a proud history and a distinctive identity. Or used to. Yet Greater Manchester Transport has become ‘Transport for Greater Manchester’, because that’s the word-order they now use inContinueContinue reading “We Are Not London”
Pop Goes the Weasel
“Governments with money centralise and claim the credit. Governments without cash decentralise and spread the blame. Those are not the views of a hardened media cynic. They are what I was told by one of the Tories’ top policy wonks before the election.”Nick Robinson, BBC Political Editor, December 2010Surprised? Why? The masters of the universeContinueContinue reading “Pop Goes the Weasel”
A Taste of Wessex
Political fiction has a long and influential pedigree, from More’s Utopia to Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. One of our aims is fun: to make politics relevant and enjoyable. So here’s a brief glimpse into one possible Wessex of the future. A very Happy Scottish Referendum Day tomorrow to all our readers: may all be inspired byContinueContinue reading “A Taste of Wessex”