HS2 - Birmingham to Manchester scrapped.

[The perfect fumble]

That's the intention but the crafty bustards won't be in power then and will call out Labour for shelving all the Tory initiatives.

Yep, they'll promise all sorts of shit between now and the election, then use them to taunt Labour from the back benches.

It's all they have.

 

[mr t]

That’s levelling up at its best for you

 

[threespires]

Having had a day to think about this, how come Sunak has taken upon himself to announce the curtailment of a long term important national project at a party conference?
Surely this should have been thoroughly debated and voted on in Parliament?
If this is Tory party policy and to be included in their manifesto, fair enough, but let the people decide at the general election.

I think because the idea of parliamentary democracy or in fact any semblance of actual governance is of no interest to this bunch. There's a culture of entitlement where I think they genuinely believe they can do whatever the fuck they like, as if the UK is their private property, and they are actually offended when someone challenges them. The arrogance in the way some of the decisions are made is breathtaking. Beyond HS2, the education reforms will be a steaming pile of shit in large part because of the way they've been concocted.

At the point when we allowed a man who quite openly had no interest in serving anyone but himself to become PM we endorsed a terrible trend and it's now open season.

The next government is not only going to inherit a shitshow of Himalayan proportions. It's going to have to try and resurrect some basic concepts around public service and holding office that have been flushed down the toilet.

 

[staffsblue]

The BBC's reporting on this has been at their usual pathetic standards.
On "Midlands Today" last night they were live from the site of Curzon Street station in Birmingham and kept repeating that HS2 wouldn't be going beyond this point. That is incorrect on two levels. The station is a terminus and by design is the end of the line. They never mentioned that the delta junction east of Birmingham is still being built, as is the connection to the WCML north of Lichfield.
Even when they interviewed Andy Street (West Midlands Metro Mayor), and he clarified the above points, they carried on their "cancelled north of Birmingham" retoric.
If the media can't report properly on things I understand (football and railways), what other misinformation are they feeding us?

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

On a personal level I am pleased with the cancellation. HS2 would speed up the journey from Manchester to London but living in Stockport I lose out. Any time saved would be lost as instead of getting a train to London locally I would have to travel into Manchester to get on it. Then Stockport loses revenue as at the present all trains through Stockport have to stop there directly and indirectly bringing in money.

The old lines and trains would still have continued, with a better, but not faster, service due to trains not getting hampered as they entered/left London. I also doubt that Stockport is actually making any money from passengers looking out of the window at it as they pass by!

Personally I don't know my feelings on this debacle. I remember thinking when it was first mooted that we really needed to be dealing with local infrastructure first before committing to it, but the most depressing thing is we haven't got very far at all with either. And now I don't trust that the government will come up with much/any of the new/revamped/rehashed/repeated/old-news-already-done promises and these will get chalked off for various reasons one by one over the next decade.

If I was Labour, what I would do now is commit to a full pricing review of long-distance train travel tickets and get them government subsidised. If we can't have a modern system, we shouldn't be paying 1st class rates for a 3rd class experience.

 

[somapop]

Andy Burnham was seething the other night. Almost a 'wait and see if they think they'll get away with this' speech.
Not entirely sure what happens next. This lot are likely to be out, but will labour pick it back up? We've been shafted and offered tarmac as an apology.

I remember the uproar years ago when a large metrolink expansion ('big bang') was cancelled. The city seemed to galvanise and fight it (helped having the weight of Howard Bernstein around).
Not sure we have that now (Burnham aside, I can't picture any of the city leaders).

We should have been talking about our own underground by now, not being expected to be grateful for pollyfilla and tram lines that have already been built.

 

[Blue Llama]

The old lines and trains would still have continued, with a better, but not faster, service due to trains not getting hampered as they entered/left London. I also doubt that Stockport is actually making any money from passengers looking out of the window at it as they pass by!

Personally I don't know my feelings on this debacle. I remember thinking when it was first mooted that we really needed to be dealing with local infrastructure first before committing to it, but the most depressing thing is we haven't got very far at all with either. And now I don't trust that the government will come up with much/any of the new/revamped/rehashed/repeated/old-news-already-done promises and these will get chalked off for various reasons one by one over the next decade.

If I was Labour, what I would do now is commit to a full pricing review of long-distance train travel tickets and get them government subsidised. If we can't have a modern system, we shouldn't be paying 1st class rates for a 3rd class experience.

Passengers get off and on at Stockport. They don't just look out the window. They go in shops cafes etc. People buy residential propert in Stockport because it has a 2 hour journey time to London. Same with offices and businesses etc. Jobs are created by the 3 trains an hour to London as more staff are needed to manage those trains. The old service wouldn't have continued, the plan was for a stopper train that copleted its journey in London. Things are obviously more straightforward in Legoland.

 

[Citizen of Legoland]

Passengers get off and on at Stockport. They don't just look out the window. They go in shops cafes etc. People buy residential propert in Stockport because it has a 2 hour journey time to London. Same with offices and businesses etc. Jobs are created by the 3 trains an hour to London as more staff are needed to manage those trains. The old service wouldn't have continued, the plan was for a stopper train that copleted its journey in London. Things are obviously more straightforward in Legoland.

My error then, I thought they were still planning on running trains from Manchester to London on the existing tracks even after HS2. I wasn't bothered either way because we've ALWAYS had to get a connection to Piccadilly to go to London so would have been no change for us, not that I ever thought I'd live to see it.

 

[mancityvstoke]

The old lines and trains would still have continued, with a better, but not faster, service due to trains not getting hampered as they entered/left London. I also doubt that Stockport is actually making any money from passengers looking out of the window at it as they pass by!

Personally I don't know my feelings on this debacle. I remember thinking when it was first mooted that we really needed to be dealing with local infrastructure first before committing to it, but the most depressing thing is we haven't got very far at all with either. And now I don't trust that the government will come up with much/any of the new/revamped/rehashed/repeated/old-news-already-done promises and these will get chalked off for various reasons one by one over the next decade.

If I was Labour, what I would do now is commit to a full pricing review of long-distance train travel tickets and get them government subsidised. If we can't have a modern system, we shouldn't be paying 1st class rates for a 3rd class experience.

Bet they didn't make much when Millwall got off in February 1999

 

[ganganvince]

HS2 - A Message from the MP for Tatton - Esther McVey


I'm guessing, like me, you were waiting somewhat anxiously for what the Prime Minister was going to say about HS2 today - how relieved and pleased I am that common sense has prevailed and HS2 will stop at Birmingham.


When I became the MP here more than 6 years ago, it was really clear that it was a project that only provided negatives for residents in this part of Cheshire - with none of the promised benefits helping Tatton residents.


Since then there has been a steady stream of issues that have added to my conviction that HS2 is an outdated vanity project - whether that was the spiralling costs, the environmental impact, technological advances (more people jumping on Zoom than a train for a meeting, to save time and money) or the loss of all direct trains to London from stations such as Wilmslow and Stockport. I have campaigned hard against HS2 since coming to Tatton, with the help of many residents who have contacted me over the years.


Although at times it has felt like a thankless task, I have always felt we had a chance to stop the line coming here which would fracture communities, damage the Cheshire countryside and waste billions of pounds.


I believe that we need better local transport links and better broadband and I am pleased that the Prime Minister has committed £36 billion to improve transport links across and within the north.


To those of you who wrote to newspapers in the last week or have provided me with additional information about the line over the last 6 years, thank you for your help. We have got the right result for the villages in Cheshire and the rest of the country.


Best wishes,


Esther


Rt Hon Esther McVey
Member of Parliament for Tatton