The English Tory Party

[Deek]

It is very disappointing that the Conservative & Unionist Party have said they will scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport and build a ?20bn high-speed rail line instead.

 

I am not so much disappointed in the Heathrow announcement, but that the high-speed railway line will only run between St Pancras in London and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

 

As a frequent flyer between London and Edinburgh in the past I know the difficulties and costs involved for travellers and the option of a high speed line to Scotland would have turned me towards trains.

 

As somebody who has voted The Conservatives in the past even when their situation in Scotland was hopeless I am sorely tempted to look closely at the policies of Wee Alex in future as the Tory's looks like their eggs will almost all be in the English basket.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7641094.stm

[shaun.lawson]

Er, hang on. Surely the point is that Edinburgh is already served via what is, by British standards, a good, fast line?

[Deevers]

It is very disappointing that the Conservative & Unionist Party have said they will scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport and build a ?20bn high-speed rail line instead.

 

I am not so much disappointed in the Heathrow announcement, but that the high-speed railway line will only run between St Pancras in London and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

 

As a frequent flyer between London and Edinburgh in the past I know the difficulties and costs involved for travellers and the option of a high speed line to Scotland would have turned me towards trains.

 

As somebody who has voted The Conservatives in the past even when their situation in Scotland was hopeless I am sorely tempted to look closely at the policies of Wee Alex in future as the Tory's looks like their eggs will almost all be in the English basket.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7641094.stm

 

Maybe it's "wee Alex" that's the problem. His partisan, self centred attitude towards the UK generally is turning off people generally in the rest of the country. It's really no surprise that the other mainstream UK parties are letting him stew in his own mire.

 

As for the third runway at Heathrow - maybe not such a bad thing from a Scottish perspective as it may force carriers to spread out their International flights around other British airports.

[Deek]

Er, hang on. Surely the point is that Edinburgh is already served via what is, by British standards, a good, fast line?

 

London to Manchester train times are being cut by a third from 125 minutes to 80 minutes. If that happened to the London Edinburgh line it could the journey time to 3 hours. I used to think the Manchester journey at around 2 hours was a good, fast line. Again when I worked in London I travelled to Manchester frequently, never by plane, always by Virgin trains.

 

If they could reduce the Scottish train times to 3 hours plane travel could be cut drastically.

 

My whole point is why only the English lines?

[Boris]

My whole point is why only the English lines?

 

 

I'm not 100%, but perhaps train lines are a devolved responsibility? I don't know though.

[Deek]

I'm not 100%, but perhaps train lines are a devolved responsibility? I don't know though.

 

Morning Boris, the assembly has primary and secondary legislative powers over transport , plus rail safety. But the Border is only 50 miles away and with as something as important as this to the infrastructure of the United Kingdom you would have hoped there would be consultation nationally.

 

Matters such as these should not be a devolved issue.

[Boris]

Morning Boris, the assembly has primary and secondary legislative powers over transport , plus rail safety. But the Border is only 50 miles away and with as something as important as this to the infrastructure of the United Kingdom you would have hoped there would be consultation nationally.

 

Matters such as these should not be a devolved issue.

 

Or should be subject to "joined up thinking" at the very least!

[The Mighty Thor]

As it ever was Deek, as it ever was.

 

The B&B announcement has been timed perfectly by the Lie-bour party to shoot themsleves in the foot again as it will deflect any scrutiny whatsoever from happenings at the Conservative and Unionist (sic) party conference in Birmingham.

 

There's a phone in on 5 live right now which is hilarious, the panelists are positively squirming when they are being nailed on policy issues as they don't have any.

 

On Boris' point I thought that the rail line network was national and brought back into national ownership after the network rail fiasco?

[I P Knightley]

Er, hang on. Surely the point is that Edinburgh is already served via what is, by British standards, a good, fast line?

 

I'd agree.

 

The East Coast service is pretty respectable. Try getting to the 3 (significant) cities mentioned, though, and it's an embarrassment.

 

Maybe, though, the plan is to cut Scotland adrift...

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

At a time when the public spending borrowing requirement in the UK is heading towards ?100bn, the need for a high speed line on the East Coast can't be justified.

[Deek]

At a time when the public spending borrowing requirement in the UK is heading towards ?100bn, the need for a high speed line on the East Coast can't be justified.

 

But there is one for Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham?

[The Mighty Thor]

At a time when the public spending borrowing requirement in the UK is heading towards ?100bn, the need for a high speed line on the East Coast can't be justified.

 

Particularly when the main east coast road artery between Scotland's capital and England is the national disgrace that is the single carriageway A1.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

But there is one for Leeds, Manchester and Birmingham?

 

It's called the party conference season! It will probably never be built anyway!

 

The point is that you can't go outlandish and say that the revamped train lines will be built all the way to Scotland because Labour would jump on the cost. However, the Tories can argue that these lines can be funded from existing spending.

 

It's all a game.

[Craig_]

Think people might be looking a little too deeply into these things. I reckon the Tories have pretty much written off Scotland as a source of votes, so they're making sure that England's voters (especially 'middle') are looked after, and not wasting their time up here.

 

Taking this one step further, perhaps they're quietly confident the SNP will do their job for them, taking huge chunks of the Labour electorate...

[The People's Chimp]

The irony in all of this is surely that salmond is praying for a tory government and the subsequent fallout from that in scotland...

[billco98]

Er, hang on. Surely the point is that Edinburgh is already served via what is, by British standards, a good, fast line?

 

Oh' dear. Where do I start?

[billco98]

At a time when the public spending borrowing requirement in the UK is heading towards ?100bn, the need for a high speed line on the East Coast can't be justified.

 

The exact opposite is the case. If we don't bring our transport system up to European standards we are goosed - end of.

 

A bit of Keynesian reflationary spending is just what's required. Now is the time to invest in building high speed railways.

 

The French embarked on the TGV project thirty years ago and were ridiculed by Margaret Hilda Thatcher. Their system is now being expanded into Germany and beyond. The high speed link to the channel tunnel is based on the TGV system.

 

It was the same stupid woman who de-regulated the banks and encouraged the de-mutualisation of Building Societies like the Bradford & Bingley. She was scared that the Socialists were going to Nationalise the banks as they intimated in their manifesto for the 1979 election. Well it is happening 30 years later as result of the policies she laid down. Oh, the irony of it.

 

When we at last get round to building our high speed system it will be French technology which we will have to buy thanks again to Margaret's grocer's daughter's miopic view on economics.

[Das Root]

Maybe it's "wee Alex" that's the problem. His partisan, self centred attitude towards the UK generally is turning off people generally in the rest of the country. It's really no surprise that the other mainstream UK parties are letting him stew in his own mire.

 

 

You'd have to think that with him being the leader of a party whose core idea is "independence" that he'd be rather happy with that

[Glamorgan Jambo]

 

My whole point is why only the English lines?

 

Cause these are the guys whose votes they need to get them over the winning line in 2010.

[blairdin]

I'm not 100%, but perhaps train lines are a devolved responsibility? I don't know though.

 

Indeed they are - look out for all the trains being rebranded in the next few years. It has to be said that First do a decent job running trains up here considering the mess Railtrack left them to work with.

 

Roads and rail are devolved issues. Basically, we could build motorways and fast railway lines as far as Berwick but we'd be reliant on Westminster doing likewise as beyond Leeds to Newcastle and then Berwick. Never going to happen when elections are won and lost in the more densley populated cities further south.

[jambopompey]

our railways have been in decline for how many decades, you can blame it on any number of political parties for it, in europe they have managed to upgrade their services and train well beyond our standards.

other nations have invested money over the decades on their own railway system, but ours have stopped it.

for years every political party has went on about doing upgrades but they get shot down by the greenish policies.

[Malinga the Swinga]

It is very disappointing that the Conservative & Unionist Party have said they will scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport and build a ?20bn high-speed rail line instead.

 

I am not so much disappointed in the Heathrow announcement, but that the high-speed railway line will only run between St Pancras in London and Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.

 

As a frequent flyer between London and Edinburgh in the past I know the difficulties and costs involved for travellers and the option of a high speed line to Scotland would have turned me towards trains.

 

As somebody who has voted The Conservatives in the past even when their situation in Scotland was hopeless I am sorely tempted to look closely at the policies of Wee Alex in future as the Tory's looks like their eggs will almost all be in the English basket.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7641094.stm

 

Think that wee Alec is about to find out that it is easier to say what you will do when you have no real power, than it is to actually do the same things when youget the power.

 

Unless something spectacular happens, Labour have lost next election, with Tories down South and SNP up here making massive gains.

 

What happens if Tories call his bluff and call for devolution referendum. Will wee Alec get his percentage required to carry out independance? Could be very close. What will SNP do if something happens to Salmond. He is the SNP at the moment and if he goes, becomes ill or something, think you might see a reduction in their vote pretty smartish.

 

All parties had better watch out as well in case of rise of Far Right. Ithas happened in Austria and could replicate in UK, although not to as much extent. Would only take another terrorist attack though, and the general public could be taken advantage of by some pretty smart, alhough extremely unlikeable politicians (thugs). BNP are making gains in council elections down South and if massive job cuts come about, then easy enough to blame immigrants and before you know it, facism strikes.

[The People's Chimp]

The exact opposite is the case. If we don't bring our transport system up to European standards we are goosed - end of.

 

A bit of Keynesian reflationary spending is just what's required. Now is the time to invest in building high speed railways.

 

The French embarked on the TGV project thirty years ago and were ridiculed by Margaret Hilda Thatcher. Their system is now being expanded into Germany and beyond. The high speed link to the channel tunnel is based on the TGV system.

 

It was the same stupid woman who de-regulated the banks and encouraged the de-mutualisation of Building Societies like the Bradford & Bingley. She was scared that the Socialists were going to Nationalise the banks as they intimated in their manifesto for the 1979 election. Well it is happening 30 years later as result of the policies she laid down. Oh, the irony of it.

 

When we at last get round to building our high speed system it will be French technology which we will have to buy thanks again to Margaret's grocer's daughter's miopic view on economics.

 

Absolutely correct. This is the ideal time for a number of large scale public works projects to be put in place. Without them, as you say, we're goosed, our infrastructure cannot afford to be allowed to run down any more, we are already 30 years behind.

[Geoff Kilpatrick]

Absolutely correct. This is the ideal time for a number of large scale public works projects to be put in place. Without them, as you say, we're goosed, our infrastructure cannot afford to be allowed to run down any more, we are already 30 years behind.

 

Yep, and create a run on the pound and drive up interest rates as the Government prints money!

[billco98]

Absolutely correct. This is the ideal time for a number of large scale public works projects to be put in place. Without them, as you say, we're goosed, our infrastructure cannot afford to be allowed to run down any more, we are already 30 years behind.

 

Thank God there is someone else who can see the kernal of the problem together with the solution.

[Boris]

Absolutely correct. This is the ideal time for a number of large scale public works projects to be put in place. Without them, as you say, we're goosed, our infrastructure cannot afford to be allowed to run down any more, we are already 30 years behind.

 

Thank God there is someone else who can see the kernal of the problem together with the solution.

 

Agree totally that our transport infrastructure is creaking and needs modernised fast. Unfortunately, the idea of public works is somewhat of a dirty philosophy these days given its inextricable link to, whisper it, socialism.

 

Plus points for me - Govt gets people working, people earn money, govt gets some back in tax, the country's infrastructure is improved. Everybody's happy.

 

I suppose the real question is what happens once that work runs out?

[The Mighty Thor]

Agree totally that our transport infrastructure is creaking and needs modernised fast. Unfortunately, the idea of public works is somewhat of a dirty philosophy these days given its inextricable link to, whisper it, socialism.

 

Plus points for me - Govt gets people working, people earn money, govt gets some back in tax, the country's infrastructure is improved. Everybody's happy.

 

I suppose the real question is what happens once that work runs out?

 

Ah slight problem gents.

 

Government decides major capital projects need doing. Government punts it to PFI. Project costing ?500 million goes ahead and we pay back ?2.5 Billion over 20 years to PFI group and the government gets next to nowt back.

[The People's Chimp]

Ah slight problem gents.

 

Government decides major capital projects need doing. Government punts it to PFI. Project costing ?500 million goes ahead and we pay back ?2.5 Billion over 20 years to PFI group and the government gets next to nowt back.

 

I think, however, the three of us would advocate doing it without involving PFI....

[The Mighty Thor]

I think, however, the three of us would advocate doing it without involving PFI....

 

Of course anyone with any sense would but the current government have nailed their colours to the PFI mast for major capital projects.

[Boris]

Ah slight problem gents.

 

Government decides major capital projects need doing. Government punts it to PFI. Project costing ?500 million goes ahead and we pay back ?2.5 Billion over 20 years to PFI group and the government gets next to nowt back.

That's why I said

Unfortunately, the idea of public works is somewhat of a dirty philosophy these days given its inextricable link to, whisper it, socialism.