This was originally published on HS2 buzz.
Dear Dave,
I know that it’s difficult to let down mates. We all have, at some time, said that we’ll do something, without really thinking it through, only to regret it later. Like telling party guests, “why not stay the night, it’s late and we have a spare room,” only to wonder in the morning why on earth you said it.
I haven’t enough fingers (or toes) to count the amount of favours I have pledged in the heat of a moment, only to find that I hadn’t really thought it through and realised just what I was getting myself into. So, I understand Dave how easy it is to get yourself in a hole of your own making and then have to suffer the consequences.
Which brings me to HS2…
Now I know that other countries have these shiny fast trains, I also know that your mates in the construction industry are getting a bit short of work, what with Crossrail and Olympics finished, where’s the big-taxpayer-funded-build going to come from? But this time the public, and that means votes Dave, just aren’t having any of it.
They see it as insensitive Dave, that you should entertain spending such an eye-watering amount of wonga on something of benefit only to the better off. Especially since many of them are having to choose which days they can afford to eat and which days they should heat the house.
Seeing the potholes on the road getting more plentiful and a whole lot deeper, is a visible and all too tangible reminder that we are skint Dave. Telling us that you are healing the North/South divide sounds a bit like you are making it up as you go along and as for the constant calculation errors… well it doesn’t look good Dave.
Politicians need lots of votes to keep them in a job and your support is haemorrhaging by the day Dave. I know your mates will be a bit miffed with you if you scrap the high speed rail project, but we have reached the point where you have to “man up” a bit.
Trying to “spend so much that there is no going back” really isn’t a good strategy, in other words “the Paving Bill will only make things worse in the long run”. The long and short of it Dave, is that this train has finally run out of track and you need to think very carefully about your party’s future.
Best wishes,
Buzz
Read More:
- Healing the Pleb Toff divide and other stories
- HS2 public support falls
- Tory footsoldiers are deserting the battlefield. It could cost them the election
It is now apparent from the investigations regarding
economic costs to the tax payers that the proposed project is ‘pie in the sky, a far better solution would be to build a monorail track suspended above the hard shoulder of the motor way. Areas could selected variuos junctions,where Park and Ride would be availabe The advantage of such ascheme would be numerous – i.e. the introduction of such a scheme could be done on a ad hoc basis – it would give motorist a alternative when inclement weather occurrers -reduce pollution – and would save costs in amount of compensation that will occur if the HS2 was to start.