Thread 30 Sunak: No trains, no drains, no point

[DuncinToffee]

As suggested by the lovely Pointythings and her feisty cat army

We continue

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/4873009-thread-29-sunak-borders-barges-and-bacteria?page=40&reply=129254108

Exactly this.

They couldn't deliver one project to cost, imagine the spiralling costs of a multitude of projects.

I don’t suppose they are actually planning a multitude of projects though. My money is that this saving will be held back until 2030 at least and is immediately finding some tax cuts.

The Birmingham Manchester leg was the most critical leg of HS2. What a mess.

Via Jim Pickard

here’s a map of where the new transport spending priorities will be, “Network North” isn’t just the north

This sort of thing is why I am unconvinced -

One of the biggest cheers in Rishi Sunak's speech was his pledge to deliver an "A1 upgrade" (with scrapped HS2 funds).

Is this a new announcement?

No.

In fact, the story of the A1 upgrade under successive Conservative Prime Ministers truly is remarkable..🧵

x.com/c4ciaran/status/1709545543058202954?s=46&t=Uw4lJNwxFZFnX0Xs3doHYg

Read and roll your eyes!

This doesn't help -

People of Sheffield and Leeds: Rishi Sunak says he will quadruple the number of trains between Sheffield and Leeds.
As there are currently five per hour each way, that will mean 20 trains per hour: one every three minutes.
Rail boffins: can you help me understand how that works?

x.com/simoncalder/status/1709559006979600729?s=46&t=Uw4lJNwxFZFnX0Xs3doHYg

New track? That's a genuine question BTW.

Also

HS2 is embedded in statute. W Mids to Crewe got assent in 2021. Crewe to Manc is in Committee.

Where does sovereignty lie, if a PM can cancel such things by dictate, with no local consultation, impact assessment, or Parliamentary scrutiny?

Judicial review coming, for sure. ~AA

x.com/BestForBritain/status/1709553125059711037?s=20

Allison Pearson is moaning in today’s Telegraph that they’re too far left. 😳

Andy Street not resigning over HS2 - tells @ChrisMasonBBC he’s disappointed but welcomes a compromise

Wonder what he’s been offered?

And they are scrapping A & T levels???

Because education needs a shake up?

I just saw that about A levels

Sunak proposes abolition of A-levels and T-Levels in England into new “advanced British standard” qualification. All students to study maths and English to 18.

My bloke’s just said the entire speech is a rag bag of silly proposals that will never make it to the statute book - straight from a Tory mouth.

Someone on twitter pointed out that when Sunak was asked about his wife's nondom status we were told that she should not be brought into it, and now she opens his speech.

Wasn't he basically saying everything has been shit pretty much since Thatcher left office?

The picking on ill and disabled people and, as usual, immigrants shows they have nothing to offer.

What I also took away from his speech was that everything is terrible right now and it won't get better anytime soon.

Oh dear

https://x.com/eleanormia/status/1709556287619359168?s=20
No 10 said the decision on HS2 was made this morning, but this video talking about scrapping HS2 looks like it was filmed in Downing Street

Here's a clip from 20 September - it's the same picture frame in the background

Land acquisition for phase 2a to Crewe suspended immediately…

Government to start reselling properties it bought for hs2 phase 2

x.com/faisalislam/status/1709544532935598264?s=46&t=Uw4lJNwxFZFnX0Xs3doHYg

Wonder if they are any Tory donors waiting in the wings here.

They are certainly going to great lengths to make Labour reintroducing the policy as difficult as possible.

Oh and -

Almost a quarter of the HS2 money, unless I’ve misunderstood the background paper, is going on pothole repairs

x.com/jenwilliams_ft/status/1709569436875735064?s=46&t=Uw4lJNwxFZFnX0Xs3doHYg

Not exactly a bright new dawn is it?

Scrapping HS2 in his speech doesn’t do a lot for the fact that we need HS2 and are now likely to have to start phase 2 again from scratch.

https://twitter.com/David_Cameron/status/1709579002220867922

Lol David. ‘Many will look back at today’s announcement and wonder how a once in a generation opportunity was lost’.

Well David, it starts with a referendum to appease the far right of a fractured Tory party….

Its got the pointless branch line from Gobowen to Oswestry on it. Just run decent buses. The line crosses the A5 which has heavy traffic, both cars and lorries, particularly in the summer with people going to holiday in N. Wales.
Either there would have to be very expensive engineering on it to create a bridge or tunnel, or the existing level crossing is going to cause the traffic to back up.

The line was a key campaign point last time there was a parliamentary election in N. Shropshire, with the Tories suddenly promising it. I wonder how many of the other "Northern" improvements are similarly chosen.
That said shipping in a candidate from Wales is going no better for the Tories in N. Shropshire than when they tried to impose someone from Birmingham on the constituency.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-redirects-hs2-funding-to-revolutionise-transport-across-the-north-and-midlands

So if I understand it, on Sunday we were ending the war on motorists and starting one on bus lanes and now buses are important and need funding.

Oh dear.

In addition to this it appears this week is T level week. Which are now scrapped.

That's really worried me.

Ds was the first year of them. What will happen now they aren't qualifications.

Anyone want the added icing on the cake to that?

He was on the news with Braverman as she went to the college to promote how great they are!!!! I have photos and everything!

It’ll take a while for the new qualification to start. By which point we will hopefully have a new government who may scrap the whole thing. After we’ve spent money on investigating the feasibility.

Like I said, my Tory says nothing in today’s speech will see the light of day and he’s even less likely to vote for them after this week’s debacle.

I honestly don't understand why they propose changing A & T levels NOW.

We have far more pressing concerns within state education than wasting a couple more years & heaven knows how much cash on already struggling services.

What the flip are current Year 11 supposed to think?