Dear Mr Cameron....

[jamesb]

As would I, but I would also back a plan that has the potential to create thousands of jobs as that brings in more revenue VIA taxes and stimulates growth.

 

Yep - the driver's jobs should be especially good ones to create. Crow's already planning for them - First HS2 drivers’ strike scheduled for 2027

Edited January 11, 2012 by jamesb

[broc]

Who will really benefit from this new rail link? As far as I can see, only a small number of business people who travel between London & Birmingham.

 

I am sure there are better ways of investing this amount of money to create jobs; resurrecting BSF (shudder!) in a lean & mean form cutting out the obscene waste would enable the rebuilding of most if not all of the leaky run-down secondary schools & benefit far more people in the UK than this vanity project will ever do.

[creese]

The Daily Mash - No-one in a hurry to get to Birmingham

[JonWPS]

Which government first proposed HS2?

 

I'm of the mind that it's the sort of infrastructure improvement we need to be making, and while the nimbys need to be properly paid off, there views shouldn't be allowed to bring a halt to proceedings if it's deemed the project is in the national interest.

[sonofsanta]

Keynesian economics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

The government will more than recoup the money spent via taxes from additional employment etc. To be honest, I think this is the first sensible decision taken by this government with regards to the deficit etc. - we need to be stimulating the economy, not choking it.

 

The problem is that large scale national economics is still an unsolved problem and no-one actually knows how to fix it/predict it after a couple hundreds years worth of data on the topic. All the more reason to spend the money on rebuilding the schools, stimulate the economy and train the economists to actually work this stuff out!

[jamesb]

Who will really benefit from this new rail link? As far as I can see, only a small number of business people who travel between London & Birmingham.

 

I have to ask, do you commute by train?

 

I've only started to appreciate the value of a link like this since starting to travel daily by train myself. During peak hours, our entire rail network simply isn't sufficient for the swarms of people who use it. If travel between London and Birmingham becomes easier, making living in Birmingham and working in London more palatable, and supports a substantially larger number of people it'll not only help those who already travel between the two - it'll also help those who travel from parts of the commuter belt as the strain is lifted slightly from the network.

 

It could also help to revitalise somewhere like Birmingham, as more people move there. Surrounding areas could be affected as well.

[localzuk]

Who will really benefit from this new rail link? As far as I can see, only a small number of business people who travel between London & Birmingham.

 

Fine, only the rich get to use it (something which I'd contest anyway), but that means they're not on the other lines - increasing capacity there as well.

[teejay]

Personally I think this is a great project, linking the major cities with a high speed rail link should allow business to be spread a bit more round the country rather being so London centric. I do have some reservations though about ticket pricing and also that it's bound to be a foreign company that wins the contract and all the materials will be imported rather than UK sourced.

 

As for BSF, we are well rid of that, it was an expensive ponzi scheme with the only winners being the consultants and financiers behind it. The schools built are generally pretty poor, which still leak the same as old buildings and actually have less space in them as the amount of space per pupil is calculated at a much lower level than old school buildings. Yes, some investment needs to be made into school buildings, but that is now being directed to individual schools on a case by case level, which is far cheaper and more effective.

[zag]

Which government first proposed HS2?

 

Labour

[broc]

The way to revitalise Birmingham & elsewhere is to create jobs where people work, not have people spend their time commuting long distances.....

 

If more jobs existed outside of London & the South East there would be less reason for people to commute. Also increasing rail & road network capacity to meet commuting demands means you end up with huge off-peak surplus capacity in your transport infrastructure.

 

I have done my share of commuting by road, rail & even for a while by air. There is no substitute for being able to work close to home.

[broc]

As for BSF, we are well rid of that, it was an expensive ponzi scheme with the only winners being the consultants and financiers behind it. The schools built are generally pretty poor, which still leak the same as old buildings and actually have less space in them as the amount of space per pupil is calculated at a much lower level than old school buildings. Yes, some investment needs to be made into school buildings, but that is now being directed to individual schools on a case by case level, which is far cheaper and more effective.

 

I couldn't agree more....(& I have first hand knowledge of working in a BSF school) but if you looked at the estimated cost of BSF (£50billion or so) with some good management I might argue you could probably deliver the same number of new/refurbished schools for £30billion....

[jamesb]

The way to revitalise Birmingham & elsewhere is to create jobs where people work, not have people spend their time commuting long distances.....

 

If more jobs existed outside of London & the South East there would be less reason for people to commute. Also increasing rail & road network capacity to meet commuting demands means you end up with huge off-peak surplus capacity in your transport infrastructure.

 

I have done my share of commuting by road, rail & even for a while by air. There is no substitute for being able to work close to home.

 

Having had to commute, and worked close to home, I agree completely.

 

Unfortunately my co-workers, many of whom live in places at least as far from me as they are from the office, disagree with me about where we should move the company to.

[reggiep]

32 Billion would pay off our national debt!!

Here's an idea, ignore the idiots that are lib dems - they're oxygen thieves anyway.

 

Brilliant idea!

I'm sure we would have been much better with a purely conservative government. Not.

[CAM]

Yep - the driver's jobs should be especially good ones to create. Crow's already planning for them - First HS2 drivers’ strike scheduled for 2027

 

He is the kind of idiot that does more damage than good to this country's infrastructure. He is the prime example of why striking should be done sparingly and not on a regular basis, especially not on the same days each year...

[DrCheese]

Brilliant idea!

I'm sure we would have been much better with a purely conservative government. Not.

 

Exactly, this is what annoys me when people slate the lib dems. If we'd had a pure Tory government they would have ramroaded things like the NHS bill through already without a second thought.

[LosOjos]

Exactly, this is what annoys me when people slate the lib dems. If we'd had a pure Tory government they would have ramroaded things like the NHS bill through already without a second thought.

 

Instead they'll spend time arguing about it in parliament before eventually doing it anyway.

[X-13]

He is the kind of idiot that does more damage than good to this country's infrastructure. He is the prime example of why striking should be done sparingly and not on a regular basis, especially not on the same days each year...

 

That's not a real story... Not sure if you know that.

 

Also, best line of the entire thing:

 

[bob Crow apparently] made some powerful noises as he lobbied his member.

[reggiep]

Instead they'll spend time arguing about it in parliament before eventually doing it anyway.

 

Yes, but as DrCheese just said they may well do it anyway but with some of the nasty sharp corners smoothed off a bit. Or sometimes, just sometimes, they stop altogether.

[DrCheese]

Instead they'll spend time arguing about it in parliament before eventually doing it anyway.

 

Well yeah it's likely going through anyway, but at least it'll be watered down. Would you prefer it have gone through unchecked?

 

Or sometimes, just sometimes, they stop altogether.

This.. sometimes it gets bogged down so much it can't be done before the end of a parliament.

[CAM]

That's not a real story... Not sure if you know that.

 

Also, best line of the entire thing:

 

It's filtered but frankly if it was real, it wouldn't suprise me in the least. xD

[teejay]

Well yeah it's likely going through anyway, but at least it'll be watered down. Would you prefer it have gone through unchecked?

 

 

This.. sometimes it gets bogged down so much it can't be done before the end of a parliament.

 

The BMA and the PCT's hated the original plan, so the original was probably the right plan...

[LosOjos]

Well yeah it's likely going through anyway, but at least it'll be watered down. Would you prefer it have gone through unchecked?

 

I'd have preferred to have left this dismal country as I have zero faith in any of it's proposed leaders. It doesn't matter which party you look at, they all appear to have the collective intelligence of a below average IQ children's puppet.

[DT2]

I'd have preferred to have left this dismal country as I have zero faith in any of it's proposed leaders. It doesn't matter which party you look at, they all appear to have the collective intelligence of a below average IQ children's puppet.

 

Nail on the head. That's brilliant!

[sted]

The way to revitalise Birmingham & elsewhere is to create jobs where people work, not have people spend their time commuting long distances.....

 

If more jobs existed outside of London & the South East there would be less reason for people to commute. Also increasing rail & road network capacity to meet commuting demands means you end up with huge off-peak surplus capacity in your transport infrastructure.

 

I have done my share of commuting by road, rail & even for a while by air. There is no substitute for being able to work close to home.

 

spare capacity is a good thing as it allows for growth and better maintenence so it lasts longer.

 

The line to birmingham not fussed but extending it further to leeds/manchester does

 

its about time some money was invested in infrastructure as at least around here its crumbling just look at the trains we get round here they are usually old castofs from the south east and really belong on a scrap pile

[LosOjos]

I'd have preferred to have left this dismal country as I have zero faith in any of it's proposed leaders. It doesn't matter which party you look at, they all appear to have the collective intelligence of a below average IQ children's puppet.

 

Neg Rep "Please feel free to leave then cos frankly the country doesn't need your negative views!" - thank you now how about growing a pair and owning up to it eh? Of course you won't, because as all regular EG's know, this phantom Tory neg-repper is a coward.

 

I'm sorry that I'm finding it hard to stay positive in a country that has been beaten to the ground by stupid politicians and greedy bankers, and that has then chosen to punish the public sector (though funnily enough, not the politicians or the bankers) for that - clearly I'm insane! As for leaving the country, I'd love to! Unfortunately I don't get paid enough to raise the funds to do so; it's a vicious cycle!

Edited January 11, 2012 by LosOjos