HS2 - Birmingham to Manchester scrapped.

[Blue Boy 63]

Scarlett Johansson is currently in the utility doing my ironing in nowt but that gorgeous 09/10 umbro top.

Oh hang on that's just made up bollocks.

A bit like this bizarre idea that the conservatives are more competent with the economy than Labour. There is absolutely no evidence to support it. It's a complicated subect at the best of times and the reality is historically there's not huge quantative differences between the macro economic performance of the two main parties.

As for individual historical economic events they are rarely the exclusive result of the policy approach of the incumbent government. For example it takes about half an hour to understand that something like Callaghan having to go to the IMF in '76 had it's roots in a variety of things not least of which was the previous Heath administration. Arguably if you want to play the blame game there's more instances of Conservative administrations shooting themselves in the foot economically than Labour both long term and short term. I think this is partly because Conservative governments since the 80s have been driven by ideology rather than prudence.

Someone should do a PhD into why the British public persist in buying into this bollocks. I suspect the answer is a preparedness to accept inappropriate analogies, a lack of curiosity and our good old friends the fourth estate.

The Tories have always borrowed more than Labour, and always repaid less: they are the party of big deficit spending

It is often suggested that Labour is profligate and the Tories are the naturally ‘safe pair of hands’ when it comes to running the economy. The Tories, it is presumed, do not borrow as much as Labour. This is a hypothesis I have tested before. I thought it time to...

www.taxresearch.org.uk

 

[East Level 2]

Well I for one am glad that in their post HS2 planning they intend to extend the Manchester metrolink to the airport and build Nottingham a tram system…


Oh hang on…

I'm sure their defenders will soon be on to clear up the misunderstanding. It can't possibly be pure stupidity mixed up with lies and a lack of interest. Can it?

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Sums our railways up

 

[Grassland Blue]

Sums our railways up

Can they not run the train up as far as Glasgow or Edinburgh and sort out onward travel from there?

 

[Alan Harper's Tash]

Can they not run the train up as far as Glasgow or Edinburgh and sort out onward travel from there?

Don’t know. Maybe they don’t have a driver available, or maybe there’s engineering works somewhere.

Probably cheaper to stay at the Ritz for a night.

 

[jrb]

 

[MCFC Wirral]

You’d surely fly from London to Scotland?

 

[halfcenturyup]

I'm on a trip to Finland in January. I'm traveling by train in a sleeper cabin from Helsinki to Kemijarvi. The 14hr journey costs just 70 euros.

A word of advice: don't take a Dutch car with you. I did the same trip nearly 40 years ago and in arriving in Helsinki on the ferry, we were strip-searched and the car pretty much taken apart. Seats out and everything. Finally took the car up on the same sleeper train as you will, I imagine, to Rovaniemi. Obligatory crossing of the Arctic circle, then back down through Sweden, Denmark and Germany. Great trip. Two useful things I did learn though. Two beers in Finnish is "kaksi olutta" and if you go in a bar and want a girl to dance with you, you just go up and tap them on the shoulder. Of course, that was a long time ago, so you may just get slapped now. Good luck :)

 

[M18CTID]

You’d surely fly from London to Scotland?

The Caledonian Sleeper is one of the UK's most iconic train journeys. You wouldn't want to do it every week but it's one to tick off the list.

 

[remember arthur mann]

You’d surely fly from London to Scotland?

 

[mosssideblue]

The Caledonian Sleeper is one of the UK's most iconic train journeys. You wouldn't want to do it every week but it's one to tick off the list.

Used to do it regularly in the late 70s

 

[BeerIsTheBest]

Allegations. Is this the ‘Biggest fraud against the British people in history.’

Sunday Times today with a report on a multibillion-pound cover-up at HS2

As costs blew out of control senior staff allegedly shredded documents, sacked whistleblowers and used misleading projections to keep the scheme alive and the cash coming.

 

[East Level 2]

Allegations. Is this the ‘Biggest fraud against the British people in history.’

Sunday Times today with a report on a multibillion-pound cover-up at HS2

As costs blew out of control senior staff allegedly shredded documents, sacked whistleblowers and used misleading projections to keep the scheme alive and the cash coming.

I'd give a shit if I thought action would be taken against those responsible.

 

[BeerIsTheBest]

I'd give a shit if I thought action would be taken against those responsible.

The cash they have allegedly blown via cover-up (to leave a unfinished and pretty useless project)would have been sufficient to build 200 new hospitals.

In my lifetime this is potentially the largest waste of every taxpayers money on a gvmt backed civil engineering project seemingly run without any decent level of basic oversight. I find this absolutely terrifying.
Spend 15 minutes on the internet looking at the reports and interviews from people who have been trying to blow the whistle on potential shenanigans for over 5 years.
People accountable will never be questioned if folk just sit back and accept this sort of stuff.

 

[East Level 2]

The cash they have allegedly blown via cover-up (to leave a unfinished and pretty useless project)would have been sufficient to build 200 new hospitals.

In my lifetime this is potentially the largest waste of every taxpayers money on a gvmt backed civil engineering project seemingly run without any decent level of basic oversight. I find this absolutely terrifying.
Spend 15 minutes on the internet looking at the reports and interviews from people who have been trying to blow the whistle on potential shenanigans for over 5 years.
People accountable will never be questioned if folk just sit back and accept this sort of stuff.

It's not a matter of accepting it, it's rather that there is no accountability for wasting public money. We get a bit of ranting and raving from politicians every few years, usually about NHS or MOD wastefulness, but nothing is ever done. Actual government waste is rarely even mentioned, and money siphoned off to companies owned by Tory donors is treated by many as a bit of a laugh.
As for the 200 hospitals claim; what is this based on? I'm sure there is huge cost disparity between building something the size of the MRI and a small local hospital.

 

[BeerIsTheBest]

It's not a matter of accepting it, it's rather that there is no accountability for wasting public money. We get a bit of ranting and raving from politicians every few years, usually about NHS or MOD wastefulness, but nothing is ever done. Actual government waste is rarely even mentioned, and money siphoned off to companies owned by Tory donors is treated by many as a bit of a laugh.
As for the 200 hospitals claim; what is this based on? I'm sure there is huge cost disparity between building something the size of the MRI and a small local hospital.

Hi mate

The 200 new hospitals hospitals is not from me it’s referenced in the article. I agree with your view that there is rarely accountability but this sum and shenanigans (if true) is almost unprecedented and the £ is a quantum above the waste or overspend i have personally witnessed on gvmt contracts.