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Post by yattongas on Sept 27, 2023 16:45:04 GMT
Wasn’t the whole point of it to have connectivity to London ? Starting in the north and building southwards would have made little sense. It might of stopped In Birmingham anyway ! 😀 It would mean they had to complete it and connect the whole country, but yes, the idea was to increase capacity and make journey times quicker. I still feel that an east-west route would be the most cost effective as the starting point. Two thoughts, firstly by getting better connection to London, we will see an increase in the ripple effect as Londoners move out increasing house prices; and secondly, the Conservative Party conference is in Manchester. Why leak this news now? Unless......🧐 Read that a lot of the spiralling costs was due to tunnelling needed in Tory voting Oxfordshire as the locals didn’t want it disturbing their blissful lives . Pretty sure Labour will plough on with it anyway.
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Post by stuart1974 on Sept 27, 2023 16:47:14 GMT
It would mean they had to complete it and connect the whole country, but yes, the idea was to increase capacity and make journey times quicker. I still feel that an east-west route would be the most cost effective as the starting point. Two thoughts, firstly by getting better connection to London, we will see an increase in the ripple effect as Londoners move out increasing house prices; and secondly, the Conservative Party conference is in Manchester. Why leak this news now? Unless......🧐 Read that a lot of the spiralling costs was due to tunnelling needed in Tory voting Oxfordshire as the locals didn’t want it disturbing their blissful lives . Pretty sure Labour will plough on with it anyway. Too good an opportunity to score political points this close to a GE. Plenty of can kicking and long grass.
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Post by supergas on Sept 28, 2023 9:32:11 GMT
It would mean they had to complete it and connect the whole country, but yes, the idea was to increase capacity and make journey times quicker. I still feel that an east-west route would be the most cost effective as the starting point. Two thoughts, firstly by getting better connection to London, we will see an increase in the ripple effect as Londoners move out increasing house prices; and secondly, the Conservative Party conference is in Manchester. Why leak this news now? Unless......🧐 Read that a lot of the spiralling costs was due to tunnelling needed in Tory voting Oxfordshire as the locals didn’t want it disturbing their blissful lives . Pretty sure Labour will plough on with it anyway. The issue with it crossing the Chilterns in the way it does dates back pre-2010 to the last Labour government. They were obsessed with the time from London to Birmingham and so it needed to be almost a straight line across the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty... ....hence the tunnels and hence the high cost. The route could and should have been changed by the Coalition and/or the Conservatives, but to cut delays and costs (stop sniggering at the back) for some reason they stuck with the unnecessary high-cost route....
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Post by yattongas on Sept 28, 2023 10:47:50 GMT
Read that a lot of the spiralling costs was due to tunnelling needed in Tory voting Oxfordshire as the locals didn’t want it disturbing their blissful lives . Pretty sure Labour will plough on with it anyway. The issue with it crossing the Chilterns in the way it does dates back pre-2010 to the last Labour government. They were obsessed with the time from London to Birmingham and so it needed to be almost a straight line across the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty... ....hence the tunnels and hence the high cost. The route could and should have been changed by the Coalition and/or the Conservatives, but to cut delays and costs (stop sniggering at the back) for some reason they stuck with the unnecessary high-cost route.... So we’re agreed , ultimately it’s the Tories fault. 😀👍
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Post by supergas on Sept 28, 2023 11:23:31 GMT
The issue with it crossing the Chilterns in the way it does dates back pre-2010 to the last Labour government. They were obsessed with the time from London to Birmingham and so it needed to be almost a straight line across the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty... ....hence the tunnels and hence the high cost. The route could and should have been changed by the Coalition and/or the Conservatives, but to cut delays and costs (stop sniggering at the back) for some reason they stuck with the unnecessary high-cost route.... So we’re agreed , ultimately it’s the Tories fault. 😀👍 It's an interesting topic, so in the last few days I've read six or seven articles from a variety of experts who mostly agree that mistakes were made at all phases, at the start by Labour and their advisors and then by the Conservatives when they chose not to risk delays and cost increases to change those plans... ....I assume you read different articles to conclude it was ultimately the Tories fault?
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Post by yattongas on Sept 28, 2023 11:29:34 GMT
So we’re agreed , ultimately it’s the Tories fault. 😀👍 It's an interesting topic, so in the last few days I've read six or seven articles from a variety of experts who mostly agree that mistakes were made at all phases, at the start by Labour and their advisors and then by the Conservatives when they chose not to risk delays and cost increases to change those plans... ....I assume you read different articles to conclude it was ultimately the Tories fault? As they were the party in power before construction actually started , they were the ultimate decision makers. So in my book , blame should lie with them . Not sure or why you think blame should be equally apportioned, but hey ho .
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Post by supergas on Sept 28, 2023 11:50:58 GMT
It's an interesting topic, so in the last few days I've read six or seven articles from a variety of experts who mostly agree that mistakes were made at all phases, at the start by Labour and their advisors and then by the Conservatives when they chose not to risk delays and cost increases to change those plans... ....I assume you read different articles to conclude it was ultimately the Tories fault? As they were the party in power before construction actually started , they were the ultimate decision makers. So in my book , blame should lie with them . Not sure or why you think blame should be equally apportioned, but hey ho . ...large costs had already been incurred by 2010 - a change of the plan would have wasted money and delayed the project (again) - if Labour had listened to the same people who advised the Conservative Government on HS1 then the HS2 plans would have been better and it might even have been finished by now...
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Post by yattongas on Sept 28, 2023 11:54:30 GMT
As they were the party in power before construction actually started , they were the ultimate decision makers. So in my book , blame should lie with them . Not sure or why you think blame should be equally apportioned, but hey ho . ...large costs had already been incurred by 2010 - a change of the plan would have wasted money and delayed the project (again) - if Labour had listened to the same people who advised the Conservative Government on HS1 then the HS2 plans would have been better and it might even have been finished by now... Unbelievable Jeff 😂!
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Post by baggins on Sept 28, 2023 20:42:38 GMT
As they were the party in power before construction actually started , they were the ultimate decision makers. So in my book , blame should lie with them . Not sure or why you think blame should be equally apportioned, but hey ho . ...large costs had already been incurred by 2010 - a change of the plan would have wasted money and delayed the project (again) - if Labour had listened to the same people who advised the Conservative Government on HS1 then the HS2 plans would have been better and it might even have been finished by now... Wasted money and delays. Like 13 years and an estimated £100 billion. Imagine the NHS getting that sort of windfall. Christ alive.
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Post by supergas on Sept 29, 2023 10:16:38 GMT
...large costs had already been incurred by 2010 - a change of the plan would have wasted money and delayed the project (again) - if Labour had listened to the same people who advised the Conservative Government on HS1 then the HS2 plans would have been better and it might even have been finished by now... Wasted money and delays. Like 13 years and an estimated £100 billion. Imagine the NHS getting that sort of windfall. Christ alive. ...well in real terms the NHS gets £50bn more every year now than it did in 2010. So then the next question is what is the NHS doing with all that extra money...?
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Post by yattongas on Sept 29, 2023 11:48:01 GMT
Since its creation, NHS spending has increased by an average of 3.7 per cent per year in real terms. But from 2010/11 to 2018/19, NHS funding growth slowed to 1.4 per cent per year.
This funding squeeze, alongside increasing levels of NHS activity, means that funding for NHS estates, medical equipment and preventative care has been deprioritised to pay for day-to-day activities.
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Post by yattongas on Sept 29, 2023 15:11:28 GMT
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Post by supergas on Sept 30, 2023 7:54:17 GMT
Since its creation, NHS spending has increased by an average of 3.7 per cent per year in real terms. But from 2010/11 to 2018/19, NHS funding growth slowed to 1.4 per cent per year. This funding squeeze, alongside increasing levels of NHS activity, means that funding for NHS estates, medical equipment and preventative care has been deprioritised to pay for day-to-day activities. So what do we get for the ever increasing funding going into the NHS? Because based on some rudimentary maths the UK population over that period grew by 0.7% per year - nearly half the rate NHS funding increased. We also know that advances in technology mean treatments are (in general) quicker and more efficient than ever meaning less time and money spent treating each individual ailment. The NHS model also changed - the government recognised civil servants and politicians were rubbish at running the NHS so Clinical Commissioning Groups were set up, the logic being they were run by healthcare experts who would know how to get the best out of their budgets... ...and yet we still see examples of waste and inefficiency across the NHS - hundreds of millions of pounds a year prescribing basic painkillers that patients could buy over the counter at a fraction of the cost. Millions on antibiotics that don't help the specific patient and (because of the volume being prescribed) may overall be doing more harm than good. Hundreds of millions wasted on people attending A&E for minor ailments better treated elsewhere and potentially a billion or more wasted on people visiting GPs when they don't need to. All of this is before we get to the number of 'diversity' consultants (most of which seem to be on over £50k/year) and the overall NHS diversity manager who was on a higher salary than the Prime Minister... The NHS has enough money to do the basics well. It needs to focus on those basics (frontline care) and nothing more....
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Post by stuart1974 on Oct 2, 2023 13:41:10 GMT
Just before Jeremy Hunt's speech, too. "The northern leg is HS2 is to be scrapped, Sky News understands. This follows reports and speculation over a number of weeks that Rishi Sunak was set to axe the Birmingham to Manchester leg due to soaring costs. The prime minister and chancellor have repeatedly refused to comment on the future of the high-speed rail line - but ministers have spoken often of the ballooning costs and said it was "under review". It follows a report from deputy political editor Sam Coates last night that the PM was set to hold an emergency cabinet meeting over the line's future. What remains unclear is whether the line from Birmingham to London will end at Euston - in the city centre - or at Old Oak Common in west London." news.sky.com/story/tory-conference-live-chancellor-to-face-questions-amid-benefits-squeeze-and-calls-for-tax-cuts-12593360?postid=6521014#liveblog-body
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Post by yattongas on Oct 2, 2023 13:47:52 GMT
Just before Jeremy Hunt's speech, too. "The northern leg is HS2 is to be scrapped, Sky News understands. This follows reports and speculation over a number of weeks that Rishi Sunak was set to axe the Birmingham to Manchester leg due to soaring costs. The prime minister and chancellor have repeatedly refused to comment on the future of the high-speed rail line - but ministers have spoken often of the ballooning costs and said it was "under review". It follows a report from deputy political editor Sam Coates last night that the PM was set to hold an emergency cabinet meeting over the line's future. What remains unclear is whether the line from Birmingham to London will end at Euston - in the city centre - or at Old Oak Common in west London." news.sky.com/story/tory-conference-live-chancellor-to-face-questions-amid-benefits-squeeze-and-calls-for-tax-cuts-12593360?postid=6521014#liveblog-bodyUpdate : Gov denies it’s been scrapped and says no decision has yet been taken . We all know it has been though 🙄
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Post by stuart1974 on Oct 2, 2023 14:01:14 GMT
Just before Jeremy Hunt's speech, too. "The northern leg is HS2 is to be scrapped, Sky News understands. This follows reports and speculation over a number of weeks that Rishi Sunak was set to axe the Birmingham to Manchester leg due to soaring costs. The prime minister and chancellor have repeatedly refused to comment on the future of the high-speed rail line - but ministers have spoken often of the ballooning costs and said it was "under review". It follows a report from deputy political editor Sam Coates last night that the PM was set to hold an emergency cabinet meeting over the line's future. What remains unclear is whether the line from Birmingham to London will end at Euston - in the city centre - or at Old Oak Common in west London." news.sky.com/story/tory-conference-live-chancellor-to-face-questions-amid-benefits-squeeze-and-calls-for-tax-cuts-12593360?postid=6521014#liveblog-bodyUpdate : Gov denies it’s been scrapped and says no decision has yet been taken . We all know it has been though 🙄 Rishi will confirm it's going ahead in his speech and be hailed as a Champion of the North. 😉
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Post by stuart1974 on Oct 2, 2023 14:08:41 GMT
Since its creation, NHS spending has increased by an average of 3.7 per cent per year in real terms. But from 2010/11 to 2018/19, NHS funding growth slowed to 1.4 per cent per year. This funding squeeze, alongside increasing levels of NHS activity, means that funding for NHS estates, medical equipment and preventative care has been deprioritised to pay for day-to-day activities. So what do we get for the ever increasing funding going into the NHS? Because based on some rudimentary maths the UK population over that period grew by 0.7% per year - nearly half the rate NHS funding increased. We also know that advances in technology mean treatments are (in general) quicker and more efficient than ever meaning less time and money spent treating each individual ailment. The NHS model also changed - the government recognised civil servants and politicians were rubbish at running the NHS so Clinical Commissioning Groups were set up, the logic being they were run by healthcare experts who would know how to get the best out of their budgets... ...and yet we still see examples of waste and inefficiency across the NHS - hundreds of millions of pounds a year prescribing basic painkillers that patients could buy over the counter at a fraction of the cost. Millions on antibiotics that don't help the specific patient and (because of the volume being prescribed) may overall be doing more harm than good. Hundreds of millions wasted on people attending A&E for minor ailments better treated elsewhere and potentially a billion or more wasted on people visiting GPs when they don't need to. All of this is before we get to the number of 'diversity' consultants (most of which seem to be on over £50k/year) and the overall NHS diversity manager who was on a higher salary than the Prime Minister... The NHS has enough money to do the basics well. It needs to focus on those basics (frontline care) and nothing more.... There is a huge disconnection between GP, 111, pharmacy, A&E, wards and social care. People not getting a GP appointment are going to A&E instead.
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Post by langrover on Oct 2, 2023 15:11:39 GMT
Over the years I understood that politics is a sensible theme and better not talk about it if you want to prevent intense discussions
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Post by oldie on Oct 2, 2023 17:06:52 GMT
Over the years I understood that politics is a sensible theme and better not talk about it if you want to prevent intense discussions You do realise that makes no sense whatsoever, don't you?
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Post by yattongas on Oct 2, 2023 17:32:19 GMT
Personally I’d much rather drive for 45 mins to get my shopping
Mark Harper transport secretary has just said Tories will stop the “ misuse of 15 minute cities “ … “what is sinister is the idea of local councils deciding how often you can go to the shops “. It is sinister. It’s also not remotely true… #cpc23
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