If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
If you have something to say...
Say it on the Huffington Post
The Blog
Back into recession, austerity yet to fully bite, pressure from backbenchers, the Opposition and world leaders - the Government needs to take bold action to show that austerity and growth can go together.
Infrastructure is a hot topic at the moment and hit the headlines again today when Ken Livingston rejected the idea of a new airport for London in the Thames estuary. Livingston's view on this particular project is another example of the single-mindedness of politicians across the world.
It has long been accepted that infrastructure development is a vital piece of the growth puzzle. David Cameron certainly subscribes to this mantra, having put infrastructure at the heart of his growth strategy when he outlined a huge £30bn investment over the next four years.
The UK government has been talking about building a new airport in the Thames estuary for over 30 years. And every time a new plan is put forward, it's been rejected -- for very good reasons.
Once again the media has become excited about proposals for a new London airport following reports that ministers are warming to the idea.
Even the most hardened of political anoraks might have missed the fact that something rather important happened this week, indicating the direction of travel for the Labour Party. It came in a speech by Ed Miliband. It is centred on a fact that few have recognised: We can no longer afford to subsidise the private sector.
It staggers me and most Scots that David Cameron and indeed the whole London commentariat could possibly have thought his proposed "deal" to have a speedy binding Scottish referendum - or nothing - would be greeted in Scotland as anything other than a stale bit of last week's bread fit only to be chucked straight back over the fence.
I challenge all those politicians who support HS2 to go out onto the streets and ask real people to choose between spending £17 billion on reducing the journey time for wealthy rail passengers between London and Birmingham by 23 minutes and all the other things we could do for that pot of money.
So the high speed London to Birmingham train will cost £32 billion. I presume that's return. It'll probably be cheaper to buy two singles. Still, I can't help thinking that David Cameron's new compromised route speaks volumes...
There have always been those opposed to progress. But we're not talking about the Galileo or the Industrial Revolution here - we're talking about 40 minutes off the journey between London and Birmingham - at a cost of £17 billion of public money! And, when no-one can be quite sure of the scheme's success, it does all seem like a little too high a price to pay.
Sadly the idea of building a high speed rail line from North to South is in the news again. The idea is to spend £30bn or so building a new line from London to Birmingham. This will cut journey times, and increase capacity.
There is a clear need for extra capacity in the future. Rail passenger numbers continue to grow against a benign economic backdrop and it has been demonstrated numerous times that economic growth and passenger travel are linked.
This is a historic opportunity, the type which this country too often foregoes through lack of self-confidence. If there is one thing I do not want to see, it is this House debating the issue of inter-city capacity in 10 years time because we averted our eyes from the strategic challenge now.
We cant afford street lights in this country now, apparently. Councils all over the land are turning off the lights in a bid to save money.
When it comes to managing the public finances, one would think that avoiding making commitments to spend £32 billion on a capital project with dubious and unproven economic and social benefits would rank quite highly in the current climate.
With a programme of rail upgrades and investment in superfast broadband, the Government could deliver the economic growth it desires, for a fraction of the cost of the High Speed Rail 2 project and in a fraction of the time.
