Westminstenders: The Final Week

[RedToothBrush]

Our final week in the EU...

The distance between refuge areas quoted in this article are crazy:

"The MPs called for emergency refuge areas to be built every 800m, rather than the average spacing of 2,500m, to improve safety."

Don't just say that if people maintained their vehicles they wouldn't break down because a) not everyone does look after their vehicle, and b) I had a tyre shredded by debris on the motorway. Thankfully, there was a hard shoulder to pull into immediately and I was in the slow lane anyway.

Reading that article, you see that they were warned - by the Fire Service, by the Police, but that these experts were ignored. Does this remind you of something?

They could cut out Smart motorways immediately by switching the signs off which allow the hard shoulder to be used. Another waste of money although not Brexit related.

The thing is "smart" motorways were a clever way to avoid the cost - and permaprotests - that would inevitably have met any attempts to widen motorways, or build new ones. (We can take it as read there were some nice juicy contracts going to favoured companies.)

They were a dishonest way to pretend the UK has a decent transport infrastructure whilst not pissing off the greenies that had infiltrated the politics of the 90s onwards.

Transport in the UK is very much schizophrenic. There's a mantra and planning regulations to deter private motoring but at the same time there is the realisation that if people really stopped using their cars, the economy would collapse in 3 months.

Yes, but if they did some planning and improved bus and rail services, then it is less likely to collapse.

OK I know the word Plan, and derivations thereof have been expunged from the dictionary.

I suspect that as Peregrina was typing they saw the flaw in their argument

That would cost money though.

It seems that Johnson is allowing Hauwei to build at least some of the 5G network. The American's don't like it. IDs, Penny Mordaunt and David Davis don't like it. I predict trouble at 'mill.

"wasn't the smart motorways initiative supposed to be coupled to another idea ? Which then mysteriously never happened ???*

Yep, DG the Stopped Vehicle Detection system which uses radar tech, should have been in place
but they went ahead without it - it's still on only 6% of smart motorways

BJ's bullheadedness is useful when he accidentally makes a correct decision

Surprisingly - to the Atlantic Bridge Tories too - he is not crawllng to the USA as much as expected on some issues.
Maybe Trump will jerk the choke chain and bellow "heel" soon - or is he distracted by his impeachment ?

The simple addition of more stopping refuges would have been a cheap and easy mitigant on smart motorways. Another possibility on the likes of the M3 would be more tidal flow like the Aston Expressway, with a moveable barrier.

The longterm solution is to address the overheated south-east economy and question why so many people need to work in London HQs rather than dispersed locations.

a very interesting you&yours on radio4 today...

I reckon Boris is eyeing his chances as POTUS, and has calculated that "standing up" to Trump looks better on his resume than not. He's banking it.

IDS don't like it

Rock the Casbah

The longterm solution is to address the overheated south-east economy and question why so many people need to work in London HQs rather than dispersed locations.

There have been hundreds of years for that to happen, so I wouldn't hold my breath.

Apart from anything else there are too many Tory donors investors in SE property that simply will not take a hit on their golden geese.

I think in the coming millennia, some historians might start to twig that the history of England since 1066 is the history of a country which has never really stopped wanting to be another country rather than accepting it's own destiny. Which is why we always seem to end up importing other countries solutions to problems, rather than developing our own.

I reckon Boris is eyeing his chances as POTUS

Brilliant! When can he start? Can we throw him in as part of the legendary UK-US trade deal?

Brilliant! When can he start? Can we throw him in as part of the legendary UK-US trade deal?

Well he'd have to recover his US citizenship (if he ever really renounced it. I reckon he had his fingers crossed). Then we'd have to see Trump serve out his second term till 2024. Boris would need to be in place for say fall of 2022 at the latest, and would also need to decide on his running mate.

However, with the blinding success of Brexit behind him, and the paper dragon of China still needing slaying, he might just catch the ratings. He would also appeal to those Americans who feel hard done by with the EU, for obvious reasons.

The best thing would be that Putin would already have his number.

I think that covers series 9 of "Homeland", no ?

I don't really know enough about Huawei, but is it a bad omen that Raab has his sticky paws over the deal?

Does Raab know China is not in Europe ?
If not, would his civil servants tell him ?
And would he listen ....

IDS on R4 now. Wouldn't know an algorithm from a set of log tables.

And Brexit Bulldog earlier saying we didn't buy submarines from the Nazis in 1939. How long have you got to deal with that one?

Anything which annoys IDS is OK by me. The enemy of my enemy and so on.

Just catching up

Huawei Frankie My sources are numerous, I just did not bother to list them ~ this is the main one
www.economist.com/leaders/2020/01/25/huawei-is-a-cyber-security-risk

If you want your data to be secure in transmission (and storage) there is only one way to do it.

Only one. No other way to do it. Only one.

That's it really.

...and now on R4 PM, Lizzie Truss saying Don't worry Gromit, everything's under control.

It is truly the Carnival of the Idiots this evening.