Post by nickd on Jan 8, 2012 14:09:05 GMT 1
Here we are in the grip of austerity and what is government pressing ahead with?
A £32 billion pound high speed train set!
It beggars belief that in times of austerity like these, Government has prioritised the go ahead of a new high speed train link. Initially, from London to Birmingham, the new trains will help get people from one city to the other in a quicker journey time. Subsequent development will go on to see the network serve Manchester and Leeds.
The London to Birmingham line is expected to get the go ahead this Tuesday; - despite massive opposition from those who oppose it. Many Tory back benchers are deeply unhappy over the line because it will cut a swathe through England's green and pleasant land; - probably swallowing up a few rather large back gardens in Tory heartlands as the JCB's get to work.
This is a classic example of government riding roughshod over those affected and ignoring consultation with the electorate. This is all about pressing ahead with yet another scheme which can ultimately only benefit those who stand to gain from our current climate of austerity. This is all about promoting social mobility for the privileged few at a time when we continue to demote social justice for the less well to do. It's a perfect illustration over how we are getting our priorities all wrong.
The project will cost a staggering £32 billion pounds; - how on earth can we afford to sanction developments on this scale when all we hear is 'there is no money'?
Let's get real about what's going on here. This isn't being done for the benefit of ordinary folk who live in say London and need to commute to Birmingham in order to carry out a decent day's work. No one can seriously say the lowly paid will benefit, nor come to think of it will those who work for say a salary of £33k a year. The cost of rail travel is already phenominal, developments of this scale can only be afforded by further hikes in fares; - the only people likely to be able to benefit from this form of locomotion are those who will earn enough to be able to travel on it. It's yet another predictable indicator that government is all about hedging all its bets on city wealth generation and putting in place the appropriate infrastructure to help it on its way.
Who will benefit?
It's very unlikely to be the vast majority of ordinary folk, we'll just pay for it as it undergoes construction and be landed with all the inconvenience caused by delays because they'll be an increased accent on the project rather than on maintaining existing lines. But let's look beyond passengers, surely we'll benefit by British firms landing contracts?
Well not according to this..
"New York firm tipped to get HS2 contract"
(Jan 3 2012 By Lawrence Poole)
"A NEW York construction firm is reportedly the favourite to be named the development partner for the proposed £33bn HS2 route - if it gets the go ahead. A decision on the London to Birmingham route is due in January, but Parsons Brinckerhoff is already being lined up to land the £50m-plus contract, according to The Independent.
If the report is to be believed, there are four bidders for the job, including London 2012 Olympic construction programme managers Mace and CH2M Hill, but Parsons Brinckerhoff's rail expertise is said to have given the Big Apple company the edge.
The company has assisted clients in China and California in planning, designing and managing the construction of high-speed rail systems".
See Link.. www.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk/south-buckinghamshire-news/local-buckinghamshire-advertiser-news/2012/01/03/new-york-firm-tipped-to-get-hs2-contract-82398-30052741/
I wonder if we'll see a repetition of what happened in London when the Thameslink train contract was taken away from a British firm and landed with german contractor; Siemens? These projects rarely seem to be about landing contracts for British firms; - rather countering government's claims to be doing all it can to protect British hopes for long term employment.
Outrage grows
They're not happy in Buckinghamshire...
"Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and chair of the 51m alliance, and 15 local authorities opposed to HS2, has voiced outrage that the procurement process for contracts on the controversial scheme has been initiated before the end of the public consultation"
He goes on to say...
"I urge people to get friends and family involved, write to their MPs, look at the evidence both for and against HS2 and ask yourselves: 'Is it really right to be spending £32 billion on HS2 during a time of austerity, when there are far better and cheaper alternatives such as investing in the transport infrastructure across the whole country? This is money that could - and must - be put to far better use."
Buckinghamshire and 51m's arguments against HS2, in essence, are:
- There is no evidence that the current proposals are really in the national interest
- The business case is seriously flawed and not value for money
- The claimed economic benefits are overstated and not credible
- Cheaper and viable alternative rail schemes have not been properly assessed
- The environmental impacts will be damaging and far reaching, and have not been adequately assessed
Read more...http://www.51m.co.uk/node/161
The legal costs and oh a bit about about social injustice
Well take the cost of Buckinghamshire and 15 other council's making a legal challenge, consider the cost of people filing compensation claims for the loss of their land and all the associated wrangling which will go on in court for years and you get some idea of how legal bills will rack up and up. Ultimately, Council's will pass their costs on to, guess who? - yes you've guessed it the council tax payer.
Government has already set up a compensation scheme, linked here..... www.hs2.org.uk/assets/x/77434. Imagine all the red tape which will surround it, not to mention the cost of disputing decisions made by various panels?
I can't help but wonder how well our corporate lawyer friends in the city will do as deal after deal has to be looked at in fine legal detail, there will be the whole question of procurement and all the legalities which go with massive projects like this. Not to mention all the planning committees, enquiries and so forth; - no wonder our legal sector is said to generating £23 billion pounds worth of business for the country. I would dearly love to know how much of the £32 billion figure will be swallowed up in legal costs? - a fair chunk I reckon. And let's not kid ourselves, these are all costs which we will have to pay, perhaps not through direct or even indirect taxation; - but ultimately through consumerism as we hand over our hard earned cash for something or other. Little is said over how the firms involved in projects like this manage to get investment funding from the banks, we all know who pays for that!
Finally - something for you to ponder over
All too often Government reminds us over how it is that legal aid costs us £2.1 billion a year; - around £39 per person per year.
Our costs for providing the most basic of social welfare legal aid are a little over £100 million a year; - it's what I call the crumbs on the plate. It's a fraction of the £39 per head figure so often quoted by Ken Clarke. Yet it's the chunk of the legal aid cake which everyone seems to be arguing for at every opportunity; - simply because we all know it makes economic sense to make sure it's available.
This high speed spending extravagance is set to cost each one of us in the UK (in one form or another) around £608 of our rapidly dwindling cash over the life time of this project; - don't believe the bill won't get passed on to you, you know it will!
You can see where government's priorities are these days can't you?
It's certainly not in protecting the most vulnerable in society against the inevitable consequences of its policies; - a sure and certain increase in social injustice, but in making sure an increasing number of city slickers can travel from one city to another at greater speed - in more comfort - and with little thought for all the destruction this brings to our once green and pleasant land.
This kind of announcement makes an absolute mockery of government's claims that we have no money; - clearly we have a great deal.
Read more on HS2...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/01/07/hs2-government-commissioned-report_n_1191077.html
A £32 billion pound high speed train set!
It beggars belief that in times of austerity like these, Government has prioritised the go ahead of a new high speed train link. Initially, from London to Birmingham, the new trains will help get people from one city to the other in a quicker journey time. Subsequent development will go on to see the network serve Manchester and Leeds.
The London to Birmingham line is expected to get the go ahead this Tuesday; - despite massive opposition from those who oppose it. Many Tory back benchers are deeply unhappy over the line because it will cut a swathe through England's green and pleasant land; - probably swallowing up a few rather large back gardens in Tory heartlands as the JCB's get to work.
This is a classic example of government riding roughshod over those affected and ignoring consultation with the electorate. This is all about pressing ahead with yet another scheme which can ultimately only benefit those who stand to gain from our current climate of austerity. This is all about promoting social mobility for the privileged few at a time when we continue to demote social justice for the less well to do. It's a perfect illustration over how we are getting our priorities all wrong.
The project will cost a staggering £32 billion pounds; - how on earth can we afford to sanction developments on this scale when all we hear is 'there is no money'?
Let's get real about what's going on here. This isn't being done for the benefit of ordinary folk who live in say London and need to commute to Birmingham in order to carry out a decent day's work. No one can seriously say the lowly paid will benefit, nor come to think of it will those who work for say a salary of £33k a year. The cost of rail travel is already phenominal, developments of this scale can only be afforded by further hikes in fares; - the only people likely to be able to benefit from this form of locomotion are those who will earn enough to be able to travel on it. It's yet another predictable indicator that government is all about hedging all its bets on city wealth generation and putting in place the appropriate infrastructure to help it on its way.
Who will benefit?
It's very unlikely to be the vast majority of ordinary folk, we'll just pay for it as it undergoes construction and be landed with all the inconvenience caused by delays because they'll be an increased accent on the project rather than on maintaining existing lines. But let's look beyond passengers, surely we'll benefit by British firms landing contracts?
Well not according to this..
"New York firm tipped to get HS2 contract"
(Jan 3 2012 By Lawrence Poole)
"A NEW York construction firm is reportedly the favourite to be named the development partner for the proposed £33bn HS2 route - if it gets the go ahead. A decision on the London to Birmingham route is due in January, but Parsons Brinckerhoff is already being lined up to land the £50m-plus contract, according to The Independent.
If the report is to be believed, there are four bidders for the job, including London 2012 Olympic construction programme managers Mace and CH2M Hill, but Parsons Brinckerhoff's rail expertise is said to have given the Big Apple company the edge.
The company has assisted clients in China and California in planning, designing and managing the construction of high-speed rail systems".
See Link.. www.buckinghamshireadvertiser.co.uk/south-buckinghamshire-news/local-buckinghamshire-advertiser-news/2012/01/03/new-york-firm-tipped-to-get-hs2-contract-82398-30052741/
I wonder if we'll see a repetition of what happened in London when the Thameslink train contract was taken away from a British firm and landed with german contractor; Siemens? These projects rarely seem to be about landing contracts for British firms; - rather countering government's claims to be doing all it can to protect British hopes for long term employment.
Outrage grows
They're not happy in Buckinghamshire...
"Leader of Buckinghamshire County Council and chair of the 51m alliance, and 15 local authorities opposed to HS2, has voiced outrage that the procurement process for contracts on the controversial scheme has been initiated before the end of the public consultation"
He goes on to say...
"I urge people to get friends and family involved, write to their MPs, look at the evidence both for and against HS2 and ask yourselves: 'Is it really right to be spending £32 billion on HS2 during a time of austerity, when there are far better and cheaper alternatives such as investing in the transport infrastructure across the whole country? This is money that could - and must - be put to far better use."
Buckinghamshire and 51m's arguments against HS2, in essence, are:
- There is no evidence that the current proposals are really in the national interest
- The business case is seriously flawed and not value for money
- The claimed economic benefits are overstated and not credible
- Cheaper and viable alternative rail schemes have not been properly assessed
- The environmental impacts will be damaging and far reaching, and have not been adequately assessed
Read more...http://www.51m.co.uk/node/161
The legal costs and oh a bit about about social injustice
Well take the cost of Buckinghamshire and 15 other council's making a legal challenge, consider the cost of people filing compensation claims for the loss of their land and all the associated wrangling which will go on in court for years and you get some idea of how legal bills will rack up and up. Ultimately, Council's will pass their costs on to, guess who? - yes you've guessed it the council tax payer.
Government has already set up a compensation scheme, linked here..... www.hs2.org.uk/assets/x/77434. Imagine all the red tape which will surround it, not to mention the cost of disputing decisions made by various panels?
I can't help but wonder how well our corporate lawyer friends in the city will do as deal after deal has to be looked at in fine legal detail, there will be the whole question of procurement and all the legalities which go with massive projects like this. Not to mention all the planning committees, enquiries and so forth; - no wonder our legal sector is said to generating £23 billion pounds worth of business for the country. I would dearly love to know how much of the £32 billion figure will be swallowed up in legal costs? - a fair chunk I reckon. And let's not kid ourselves, these are all costs which we will have to pay, perhaps not through direct or even indirect taxation; - but ultimately through consumerism as we hand over our hard earned cash for something or other. Little is said over how the firms involved in projects like this manage to get investment funding from the banks, we all know who pays for that!
Finally - something for you to ponder over
All too often Government reminds us over how it is that legal aid costs us £2.1 billion a year; - around £39 per person per year.
Our costs for providing the most basic of social welfare legal aid are a little over £100 million a year; - it's what I call the crumbs on the plate. It's a fraction of the £39 per head figure so often quoted by Ken Clarke. Yet it's the chunk of the legal aid cake which everyone seems to be arguing for at every opportunity; - simply because we all know it makes economic sense to make sure it's available.
This high speed spending extravagance is set to cost each one of us in the UK (in one form or another) around £608 of our rapidly dwindling cash over the life time of this project; - don't believe the bill won't get passed on to you, you know it will!
You can see where government's priorities are these days can't you?
It's certainly not in protecting the most vulnerable in society against the inevitable consequences of its policies; - a sure and certain increase in social injustice, but in making sure an increasing number of city slickers can travel from one city to another at greater speed - in more comfort - and with little thought for all the destruction this brings to our once green and pleasant land.
This kind of announcement makes an absolute mockery of government's claims that we have no money; - clearly we have a great deal.
Read more on HS2...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/01/07/hs2-government-commissioned-report_n_1191077.html