Why should we break up one very big snowball to create many smaller snowballs that are collectively less effective?
They don't need to be less effective. As you say, look at Germany... Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Muenchen, Frankfurt etc etc all amazing thriving cities.
As you say, look at Germany… Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Muenchen, Frankfurt etc etc all amazing thriving cities.
Yes but as I said they developed like that, they are all their own snowballs historically. Germany is a federation of states remember.
If you want to scatter your colleagues and partners across the country you need to create some pretty damn good transport links. And you grumpy gits complain when they do try and create transport links. Also, good luck reducing carbon emissions at the same time.
Last time I worked in London I was in two sites visiting two different departments. I could walk between them so I did multiple times a day. Quite a lot easier than a 2 hour train journey each time.
Half the uk's population live within this circle (note, quite a lot of it is sea). It's probably right that half the money is spent there too..
"Which they need, because I have yet to see a city in the UK other than London that resembles Japan in terms of how crowded the public transport is."
Comes from someone who has family in the North who don't use Northern Rail, Metrolink, for those not lucky to have a rail system there's the joy of spending half their commute stationary on the M6,61,60,62,66
Only nobody from the DoT gives toss because they are all in London
I much prefer living in my former mining and steel town...
Somewhere in the Erewash Valley?
As someone brought up 'Dahn Sahf' (SE London) I love living in the East Midlands. Yes there are occasionally things I miss about living in London but much of it is either available in other, friendlier local(ish) cities or (if it requires a visit to London) it's only about 90 minutes away by train. There are a fair few places in the southeast that you'd struggle to get to London from in that time.
It's the best of both worlds. Close enough to London if you really must, but far enough away to avoid getting dragged into the SE bubble.
Half the uk’s population live within this circle (note, quite a lot of it is sea). It’s probably right that half the money is spent there too..
So how much of that sweet, sweet 'Southeast' money gets thrown at Birmingham, Leicester, Peterborough, Northampton, Norwich etc?
Here's a starter for one.
Whilst the government is tripping over itself to throw money at London-centric transport projects, the funding for electrifying the Midland Mainline (which runs through a fair bit of that circle) was cancelled. Its now going only as far as Corby and Market Harborough, failing to reach the 9th, 10th and 13th most populace areas in the UK (Nottingham, Sheffield and Leicester Urban Areas).
So whilst London benefits from the Midland Mainline electrification at the Thameslink end the rest of it has the prospect of 44 year old diesel trains being used for the foreseeable future and having to have their 'fast' services held up by (Thameslink) commuter trains as they're being given priority.
Why should we break up one very big snowball to create many smaller snowballs that are collectively less effective? *
Is it though? London, well the UK really, is different to most countries in that the large industries, banking, high tech and government have clustered in one place. The effect of having all that money in one place has created one Uber cosmopolitan area. An awful lot of the world has all those things spread around so you've got a bunch of cosmopolitan cities. All attract people there and so grow and evolve. There no real signs that is less efficient, overall. It actual prevents the greatest inefficiency in which the city loses productivity due to congestion and it's effects.
our economy is slowly going higher tech, can you really convince a lot of top graduates to stay up North?
I know it's not really properly North, but Edinburgh seems to have attracted a large number of graduates in hi-tech industries from all over the UK.
Half the uk’s population live within this circle (note, quite a lot of it is sea). It’s probably right that half the money is spent there too..
Why? Do they need it? The constant argument that big cities benefit from economies of scale should mean they need less. More people on every bus on a route is fair cheaper to service than less. Yet London gets over a billion pound subsidy for its buses alone, as they are the only regulated ones in the country.
The whole point of sharing money around the whole country through the tax system is to move the money where it is needed, which isn't necessarily the same as where the most people are.
So. Thought I'd resurrect this thread since it was so prescient.
Are we seeing that change yet?
The only change I've noticed (up here in scotland) is the increasing attacks and fake news regarding the state of our country as run by the SNP from the main stream media and the tories (jackson carlaws twitter account is near enough a parody account these days) so yeah....i figure our lizard overlords are getting rattled.
The bbc scotland website led with its main story the other day that there were no masks/provision for the coming pandemic being supplied to the nhs/doctors etc as the snp were failing in the supply chain, turns out to be a complete fabrication as a scottish NHS procurement officer appeared to say this was utterly false and they have more than enough to cope with any eventuality. The BBC removed the story and no correction was forthcoming (as far as i could see)
Alister Jack was down in our fishing town a while ago for a photo opportunity regarding brexit/fishing quotas/taking back control etc...etc...He got chased from the harbour, literally physically chased from the harbour by skippers/deckhands trying to lamp him and his aids, was very funny seeing the prick run away at full speed. (no-one here in the fishing industry voted for brexit).
Personally id quite happily do time for wiping that grin from Alister Jacks face.
oops, posted on wrong thread.
Heathrow decision was an interesting one - to see the govt not bother to contest was telling, they have no enthusiasm for anything and no strategy.
but fundamentally nothing will change; no scot devolution vote, no powers given to regions, no tax or electoral reform, no no plans for strategic investment like the NW rail corridor or bus services regeneration but still going to crack on with HS2 and all the other stuff that benefits London. I can see Northern Ireland deciding to cut loose once Brexit hits.
I can't see anything changing anytime soon, but then I don't know anybody who was really expecting it to. Government will pay lip service while it suits. HS2 will probably not get past Birmingham anyway. In any event, as somebody who lives in Yorkshire and works in London most days I'm not sure the London elite thing is as clear as is sometimes presented. I see plenty of poverty within London, and the gap between the haves and have nots is if anything far wider...
If you tried to relocate folk from anywhere to anywhere they’d quit fast. It’s about the networks people build / roots they put down. Doesn’t matter much when you’re 20 but once the family are happy in their school, your other half has a good job etc it’s easier to stay put.
I don’t like London. I spend too much time there with work and it always seems grotty, noisy, overcrowded and a bit messy. The south-east outside London always seems like going back 30 years - how do you folk live? Always happy to leave.
Other folk love it. I don’t really understand why, but that doesn’t matter, they do and good luck to them. Fine.
Me? I’m happy with the great riding on and off road in Yorkshire. Driving to the Alps for skiing and riding would be quicker if I lived down south - but only by a few hours if I’m using the Hull ferry it’s a very relaxed journey.
Ultimately there are much better places to live than London - that’s why they have to pay folk so much to live there. 😜
Thought it is time for a thread redirection to see how we're doing.
I would analyse each line in detail, but it's just too depressing.
After this thread the LTB managed to convince the electorate that BoJo was the man to bring the north up. Wow, unbelievable but true.
he won his election, and the country is going to shit at a huge rate of knots. The north even faster than the south, where all the power lies.
Covid is disproportionally affecting the post industrial northern centres and farming and fishing are just about to be truly shat on.
Weirdly enough even some diehard Tories like Graham Brady are joining forces ( in a marriage of convenience) to fight the lockdowns imposed from down south.
The media seems to have cottoned on at least. As expected, loads of disenfranchised northern voters not knowing who to vote for to try to help them. Unfortunately they jumped the wrong way...
But in summary, Yes, it is too late.
There might be more money in the SE but don't for one moment imagine that it is distributed equally. The SE has massive inequalities, Tower Hamlets is one of the poorest boroughs in the country (and Jenrick tried to deprive it of £20m to benefit a billionaire pornographer). You see affluence and squalor literally next door to each other. Geographical divisions are a distraction like identity politics, north/south, black/white, phobics/philes, disc/rim, remain/leave, all working very effectively to get people howling at the moon ('rants' on here) or each other rather than understanding the real source of their problems. So long as people's anger and frustration is confined to 'calling out' on the net, those in control will sleep soundly in their beds.
