[Closed] Real political policies you would vote for?

scrap hs2, spend the £80billion-or-so on proper cycle infrastructure.

remove religion from schools.

bring in landlord taxes and empty-house taxes.

Don't pay attention to any poll other than the election; Politicians do what you're elected to do.

PR
No religion in public life / school
Scrap our Nuclear deterrant
No lobbyists
MP's have only one job
Vote for none of the above box that's counted
To win you need a majority of all the boxes ticked including none of the above.

social housing.

scrap hs2, spend the £80billion-or-so on proper cycle infrastructure.

Aye that would work when you want to get from Manchester to London.

Not sure I agree with HS2 though, so spend the cash updating the current network. You don't need to get to London 10 minutes quicker.

bring in landlord taxes.

Nowt like tarring with the same brush 😀 What extra should I be taxed on exactly?

No religion in school +1

MPs actually doing their job

Fund social projects that engage and help with disaffected youth.

Stop moving the goalposts within education. Let teachers teach.

Scrap HS2.
Ditch Trident replacement.
Keep marijuana illegal but have far more stringent legislation around alcohol.
Ban anyone that wants to be a politician from being one!

Nuke France

Jail for people who fail to use their indicators while driving, or who suddenly move to a position on the road rather than using indicators and think that this is sufficient. It will not do.

Vote chambord.

Direct democracy on the 'direction' of legislation (rather than drafting or proposing)
MP's to have had at least 10 years experience in 'proper jobs'
House of lords to be made up individuals nominated by leading professional bodies as the pre-eminent in thir field (medical, scientific, legal, engineering/infrastructure....) as well as top military, civil service. Queen/gov left out of the process entirely
Everybody (16+) to do, say, 2hrs community service a week
Free beer and strippers.
Rewilding of much of the upper river catchments of the UK

Shorter term (deficit wise)
Massive taxation on vehicles
Radical scale back on services provided by the NHS, preventative medicine the responsibility of the citizen with incentivisation through taxation
Simplification of tax and benefits system with benfits going through PAYE system as a means of making means testing simpler to remove universal benfitis from the wealthy
Eat the rich.

Any transaction that takes place in pound sterling, from a physical UK address did not take place in Luxembourg, or Dublin, or the Cayman Islands, it took place in the UK. So the company that is party to that transaction pays full tax on all profits generated on transactions in the UK.

Some good ideas above. Concur with the reduction of armed forces and nuclear spending.

Nationalise rail and make it more affordable to travel.

Stop the right to buy scheme.

Rent cap on private lettings to bring rents back in line with social housing.
House prices to be capped and rise only in line with inflation.

^^^ This for one. Earned in the UK? Taxed in the UK.

Possibly adding a single law that boils down to "don't be a cock". Being a twitter troll? Guilty of being a cock. Run a cyclist into the gutter? Guilty of being a cock.

It would be broad enough to take into account any number of offences and would be far more useful for stopping people getting off on loopholes. You'd need 100% trustworthy judges though.

A total ban on salmon netting.

Compulsory rigorous PT in all schools, six form colleges and universities, lets burpee this nation back to prosperity !

Increase in National Insurance if they could guarantee that every penny would go to the frontline of the NHS. Oh and never ever repeat the PFI funding nightmare of our NHS.

Any transaction that takes place in pound sterling, from a physical UK address did not take place in Luxembourg, or Dublin, or the Cayman Islands, it took place in the UK. So the company that is party to that transaction pays full tax on all profits generated on transactions in the UK.

Surely this is set by EU charter (which is why dealing with the issue has been so hard)?

So, we would have to leave the EU to do it? Still up for it? What if that destroys the free trade agreements we have with the rest of the World? Hurrah, we get to keep all the taxes, but the entire export sector is destroyed, so there's nothing to tax anyway.

regards defence spending, a similar argument applies, are we better and more secure within NATO, benefitting from the mutual defence agreements of article 5, or without it? Arguably it's cheaper to put 2.2% GDP into this collective defence with its associated responsibilities than to run an armed forces big enough to independently defend our own borders.

An identical argument applies to nuclear weapons of course, about 6% of defence budget is spent on running the nuclear deterrent, would a 6% bigger military provide us with the same level of security long term? Nuclear weapons are arguably remarkably cheap compared with the conventional alternative.

All these are examples of why single populist policies taken in isolation are such poor things to vote on.

I wouldn't stop the right to buy, but make sure if the council sells a council house, it builds two more.

Punitive taxes on landlords with more than two properties.

Scrap 'Help to buy' and other dangerous and pointless inflation of the property market.

Renationalise public transport and utilities.

Decriminalise all drugs and treat drug addiction as a health problem.

Scrap the nuclear deterrent/trident.

Taking a scientific and evidence based approach to forming policies.

Strong emphasis on education.

Pay HMRC staff better so they can close tax loop-holes rather than flocking to the private sector to advise them on how to exploit them.

Investment in renewable energy technologies to make them more cost efficient, with a view to be coming world leaders in the field and exporting the good work.

Person standing to be an MP must have been a resident of the area for 5 years.

Renationalisation of the railways, implement a structured plan to bring down fares and in doing so encourage more people to use public transport.

Fuel provided for public transport to be free of duty and VAT.

Invest in a proper cycling infrastructure.

A code of conduct that all leaders and marketing departments political parties must adhere to which will ensure that misleading the electorate becomes an imprisonable offence.

How would I pay for the above? According to the New Statesman in 2011 and PCS in 2014, tax avoidance cost the UK between £70-£80bn. If we ensure that those loopholes are closed and the top 1% pay their tax then I'm sure that the state could find the money.

Of course, this being STW, someone will come along and tell me that I'm completely wrong...

Just for the sake of numbers we have 191,410 active personnel in the forces, from a country of 64 Million, hardly huge. Compare that with 1.4 Million NHS staff (UK) and 1.3 Million employed in schools (England)

Free beer and strippers.

I'd vote for any party that promised one or more of the following...

Move to delegate-based system of representative democracy where all local and national representatives are bound by law to enact the wishes of their electorates.
Legalisation of all drugs (although I'd accept marijuana as a starting point)
Abolition of Trident
Dismantling of the arms industry.
Re-nationalisation of the railways
Mandatory life driving bans for anyone who seriously injures or kills another road user through careless or dangerous driving.

Do nothing to the education system for the whole parliamentary term. As opposedto changing it to fit whatever latest idea you came up with in the pub.

Allocate percentages of transport spending to rail, bike, walking, buses, cars etc. so the money is more spread iand better distributed. E.g. for every £1 on car/lorry infrastructure 10p goes to bike infrastructure and 10p to improving rail services tc.

Scrap trident (Although I would keep the rest of the military for now). I don't think we need to nuke the world but there are instances when I believe military intervention is required as long as it is not an illegal invasion.

Probably a bit harder but. Simplify the tax and benefits system. Don't take money off people in tax to simply hand them cash benefits back. Set the lower tax band at a living wage so you only pay tax above this. try and combine NI and Income tax. Design a benefits system where by people have enough money for a living wage (i.e. top up system) and they don't become worse off for working.

Remove the ban on foxhunting.

1) Nationalise infrastructure - so power, telecoms, transport, health provision etc.

2) Create a government IT agency to bring it all in-house. Make them pay well to get good people and keep them.

3) (and I appreciate this is controversial) scrap MPs and introduce digital democracy.

If we ensure that those loopholes are closed and the top 1% pay their tax then I'm sure that the state could find the money.

Of course, this being STW, someone will come along and tell me that I'm completely wrong...

I don't think you're wrong, but I think in practice it might be a little harder than you are imagining....!

Pay MPs the average wage.

Make firms increase their employees' incomes at the same rate as returns to capital. (Piketty)

Renationalise the railways and make the subsidies work for the passenger not the railway companies. cf. trains in Italy

Abolish student fees.

Legalise recreational drugs so that supply can be controlled for purity/quality and to be properly taxed. Win win.

Abolish independent schools.

All 2nd houses currently being bought via expenses to be turned over to Parliament who take over the mortgage. That way parliament owns the houses and no expenses other than maintenance need be paid once the mortgages are paid off. Houses banded according to position and allocated by lottery.

No religion in public life at all (disestablish the church, no state faith schools etc)
Renationalise the railways and the power/water companies
Bring back dog licences at a realistic figure (£100?) heavily restrict types and numbers of dogs.
I'm liking the council house sale/building one above.
Decriminalise all recreational drugs.
Combine NI and income tax.
Give HMRC extra staff to help stop tax evasion and close all tax avoidance loopholes.
Consider scrapping Trident

I don't think you're wrong, but I think in practice it might be a little harder than you are imagining....!

I'm sure it won't be easy! Fact is that Reaganomics simply doesn't work. Social mobility has ground to a halt, yet the top few percent of earners have barely noticed that there's been a recession. The balance of society is all wrong IMHO, we keep punishing the poor for being poor, our taxation system has increased the cost of living for the less well off and yet it doesn't seem to affect the wealthy.

In addition, I'd like to see a punitive taxation on empty/second homes.

Free beer and strippers.

White wine or fruit based drink for the ladies?

I'm all for equality so they can have beer with their strippers, too.

Spend car and truck tax (road fund licence as it once was) on fixing roads. Pot-holes and white lines to start, then cameras outside schools and on light-controlled junctions.

MPs have to have lived in the area for ten years, and any children attend local schools.

A block of flats convenient to Westminster for MPs to live in at an economic rent. Then they can claim no further expenses for accommodation in London.

Off the top of my head,

Compulsory to vote, with a none of the above option.

MPs to have a minimum of 5 years real life work experience, with exceptions for stay at home parents.

Scrap HS2, spend the money on improving existing public transport and new cycle facilities, repairing roads properly.

Social housing.

No development on green field sites until all the brown field sites have been built on.

Sort out the mish mash of age limits. Surely voting/drinking/driving/shagging/marriage/watching certain films should have some consistency

Legalise drugs and brothels. We can't stop it, let's stop wasting money trying.

There are certain things a government should ensure security of. Off the top of my head, food, water, power, defence, arguably other. If we aren't self sufficient in those, we should be.

Review VAT, reduce it on essentials, increase it on luxuries. And take it off bikes, lights and helmets.

All new houses to have solar panels. We are either taking it seriously or not.

Compulsory to vote, with a none of the above option.

This - with a count of the none of the aboves to be published alongside the election results.

Parenting licence with a series of tests before being allowed to procreate (males fitted with some sort of cork until test passed?)
Scrapping of Trident and Daily Mail.

Damn! I forgot the compulsory voting with the 'none of the above' option.

De politicing the NHS and making it run as UK business with a trusted and proven business leader to also avoid chopping and changing policy depending on whichever way teh wind is blowing.

Some unconventional ones...

Abolish income tax and replace it with a progressive combined Property and Wealth tax.

Pay ceiling of 10x lowest salary for executives in Public sector organisations, PLCs and private companies.

0.5% Tax on savings above 1M.

Nationalise utilities & transport.(rail and bus)
Payed for in pounds - pay tax in pounds.
No religion in state schools.
Private schools are not charities.
Criminalise zero hour contracts.
Legalise all drugs. Tax their production and sale.

good work all.
some nonsense, as expected
but a surprising number or recurring themes.

decriminalise/legalise drugs
nationalise infrastructure
pull HS2 before someone says "... but we have invested so much in the planning we cant turn back now..."
something something something - to fix the wealth/poverty housing based disaster
dont be a cock law - for not guilty pleas, jury to decide.
none of the above.

i dont support
further reduction of the military
removal of nuclear deterrant
but do think that both and the intelligence services could do with some balanced PR.

im also not addressing the finer points, financing etc. This is about policies, not balancing the books - thats for the elected government

Lots of sensible policies here; you'd all get my vote.

Mandatory Oktoberfest in July.

Let's form a party and have a party. There's some good ideas here, I shall forward the link to Werstminster (an honest typo!)

Let's form a party and have a party. There's some good ideas here, I shall forward the link to Werstminster

I'll not mention the name just yet, but a lot of these policies are already the policies of one party.

Improve house building standards.

Improve transport links between North East/Scotland and the rest of UK.

Ban GreenPeace and Oxfam.

Ban Bono from being allowed in the UK.

Can we not up the ante on that one, and have Bono and Sir Bob launched into outer space?

If we can, then you're getting my vote Dragon!

I don't agree with scrapping Successor (the Trident replacement)
I'm not sure we need HS2
Someone needs to grow a pair and address our future airport capacity strategy.
Re-negotiate our relationship with Europe - we can't have the European court stopping us from deporting terrorists.
Review the overseas aid budget - I'm not impressed with us basically funding the Indian space program, while we have people waiting for operations, and queuing up at food banks in the UK.

No new houses to be built on green belt land unless every empty town and city centre property has been renovated to an acceptable standard and offered for sale at a reasonable price.

Where viable, compulsory religious quotas in our new, non religious state schools.
Getting kids to mix at a young age can only be a good thing.

Simplification of the motorcycle licencing system.

Trial of Scottish model open access system.

Dog licences.

And many, many of the above.
😀

This - with a count of the none of the aboves to be published alongside the election results.

Not even that. All you need is Reopen Nominations (aka RON) on there, with a rule that says over a certain percentage causes a new ballot. RON would walk away with most constituencies - can you imagine the upset to the established political parties if you had to keep doing it until someone stood who people actually supported?

freeagent - Member

I don't agree with scrapping Successor (the Trident replacement)

Why?

Their auto-justification is that Trident keeps us safe.

Yet that position isn't even supported by many defence experts themselves.

The former head of the British Armed Forces has described our nuclear weapons as "completely useless" and "virtually irrelevant".

In 2007, Cold War defence and foreign policy leaders Henry Kissinger, George Shultz, Sam Nunn and William Perry, argued in the Wall Street Journal that reliance on nuclear weapons for deterrence was “becoming increasingly hazardous and decreasingly effective.”

[url= http://www.carolinelucas.com/latest/people-must-come-before-trident ]People must come before Trident[/url]

I'm not sure we need HS2

It's an interesting one. People keep saying we should improve local rail networks, which would be great, but that'll result in more passengers and the backbones are already at capacity. So we need better backbones. But a lot of our problems are due to Victorian infrastructure so new lines would be good. Isn't that what this is?

It may not be the best route connecting the most needy cities, but it's billions spent on proper modern infrastructure for the first time in well over 100 years. I'm hoping it'll lead to HS3, 4, 5 and more.

Isn't that what this is?

No it's not. People want trains they can afford to use that will get them to where they want to go in a timely and reliable manner in relative comfort. HS2 is a business train which will only by used by the rich or people whose employers are picking up the tab to get them to London and back in a time not much less than the current infrastructure. Oh, and it's going to cost £50 billion quid (at a conservative estimate)!

problem with HS is that they think the solution to all ills is to make it faster to get to London from the north

Liverpool to Hull is 120 Miles and currently [ requires changes as well] is over an hour slower than Liverpool to London

Its just capital centric capital spending.

Trains cost to much anyway if you to take your family [ to that there London or once I looked at Leicester] the train price was dearer than hiring a car never mind taking your own.

Change tax so the rich cant avoid it /make tax avoidance illegal [ Yes I know the court case ninfan]
Compulsory voting - illegal not to with a fine for not bothering
Remove nukes costly and fairly pointless
Perhaps, at a push, have a Nato nuke "defence shield"
Social housing and more council homes
Remove tutition fees from Uni but reduce numbers there as it is a waste of time and money to have 50% graduates

Lifer, the difficulty there is you have to preface any of those comments with 'currently or the near future' whereas with Trident or its successor we are talking about the presence of (short of some massive and unforeseen technological breakthrough) 'the ultimate deterrent' many years into the future in an uncertain world.

For example, Just a couple of years ago, the prospect of a resurgent post soviet Russia invading one of its democratic neighbours and sparking a new Cold War seemed ridiculous...

Compulsory voting - illegal not to with a fine for not bothering

I'd rather that the people voting had thought about it, rather than being forced and so just either voting for the first person on the ballot or spoiling their paper.

Inheritance tax based on the wealth of the recipient, not the value of the deceased's estate.

Ok mike so we need a test as well:wink:
Fair point but given the numbers who died for the right its a shame so few use the right.

I think having to vote would make them actually think ......well I would like to think that anyway

Ban 29er's (can't beleive this has been missed out)

Seriously
I like RoN idea by @molgrips
Earned and taxed in the UK

Re nationalise Energy production - one price per unit nationwide gas and electric.
Add 10p on to fuel duty and allocate all revenues from this into other forms of mass transport.
MP's to have a decent salary (we need clever people in there) but they must be held accountable to their manifesto's and results measured and published every half term and full term. Performance related pay. No other source of income allowed.
Red/Amber/Green headers on newspapers/websites/channels to indicate the veracity of their articles over a 12 month period - min 5 relevant qualified sources per article -otherwise article flagged as "opinion"

MP's to have a decent salary (we need clever people in there) but they must be held accountable to their manifesto's and results measured and published every half term and full term. Performance related pay. No other source of income allowed.

I like the idea of pegging MPs' salaries to some multiple of the national average.

1. A commitment to serve the population not to pretend that you are there to lead or...
2. ...interfere in the majority of our economic or social decisions...leading to...
3. ....significant reduction in the roles of the state with corresponding reductions in [s]enforced slavery[/s] taxation
4.....but with increased devolution of power...combined with...
5...a commitment to the original pillars of the European market - free movement of people, capital, goods and services
6...hands off education with right to have access to religious education (if desired) and commitment to celebrate academic excellence
7. Scrap inheritance tax and consider (progressive form!) of flat rate taxation!!
8. Reduce military and political interventions overseas
9. Replace equality of outcome mantra with equality of opportunity.

So tough to find anyone to vote for!!!

[Scrap HS2 but that is pure NIMBYism !!!]

I like the idea of pegging MPs' salaries to some multiple of the national average.

Problem is the national average can be skewed. National average in London, I hear the MPs scream.

It should be a percentage based on minimum wage. That way, if they want more, they have to help those on minimum wage also.

In b4 "raising minimum wage raises living costs" - there are many studies that have been done that conclude this is not the case.

It's kind of similar to that "top CEO of company earns X% more than the the lowest paid in the company" thing they're doing in Europe.

HS2 isn't about speed, it's about capacity. Want more people to take trains rather than cars? then you want HS2 sorry. (and HS3)

scrap Trident
reduce armed forces to national defence
PR
restrictions on lobbying
elected 2nd chamber
ban on party whips
re-nationalise infrastructure, and a ban on foreign ownership.
Actually have and commit to an energy policy

The idea that higher salaries are the just rewards for clever people is one that was debated in AJS in 1945. Most concluded that there was not a clear link.

Scrap income tax
Scrap VAT
Scrap capital gains tax
Scrap inheritence tax
Scrap benefits
Scrap the NHS
Scrap all the armed forces apart from the nuclear deterrent. Give everyone a gun and 1 bullet each to defend themselves. Would make you think really carefully. The nuclear deterrent is there in case argentina try and mess with the falklands again.
Ban selfies
Ban reality TV
Ban skinny jeans for men
Mandatory beards
Ban caravans
Ban caravanning
Price cap of £2 a pint on all beer

Ooo Religion and Politics in the same day..

There needs to be the Green Democrat Party, without all the tree hugging, nuclear disarmament, 'buy the Queen a Council House', nonsense.

All Transport and Utilities back into Public Ownership and develop Green Industries off the back using our own Universities and manufacturing.

Minimum Wage UP to at least £10.00 per hour.

Introduce a Maximum Wage, certainly in the public sector where it is funded by us tax payers, is one man or woman worth more than ten times the price of another?

Encourage similar restraint in the private sector if only to protect shareholders from Board room wage excess.

Honestly how much money to you really need, being stupidly rich to the point you couldn't possibly spend it all. Anyway not something you could control but philanthropy should be encouraged more wether by tax breaks or name and fame even, who knows..

NHS, everyone gets a card, you use it to pay, reduce health tourism, requires citizenship to use, I'd even go as far as to introduce charges for persistent time wasting, for sniffles and drunk related problems.

Nuclear Power from Thorium.

Wave and Tide Power

Motorways get two tiered with water pipes, power, fibre optic built in, plus roadside fan and solar generation.

Armed forces get merged into one unit encompassing land sea and air weaponry and used as a police force if necessary to 'sort' any tyrannical oppression of human rights, not just oil related.

Depower religion, there's a simple rule. If a religion needs enforcement, it's not a religion it's tyranny, stamp it out.

Cycleways Everywhere.

Halve the number of Politicians and keep them away from the NHS

nickc - Member

HS2 isn't about speed, it's about capacity. Want more people to take trains rather than cars? then you want HS2 sorry. (and HS3)

the problem, that many have pointed out, is not with more train lines, it's with HS2 [i]specifically[/i].

it's expensive, and London-centric, just what the nation needs.

I'm not sure we need HS2

All the northern cities have categorically stated what should be the bleeding obvious. That transport links between the northern cities (road and rail) are a much more pressing issue than getting up here from London. What happens when you arrive up north super-quick from the capital? This... thats what.....

[img] [/img]

But the governments self-interested consultants in London ignored all that, and said we need to spank 7,000 squillion pounds on HS2 instead

So HS2 we're getting

Which raises another issue - stop spending our money on sodding expensive, self-interested consultants and listen to actual people instead. And ban stupid bloody think tanks as wel, while we're at itl! As they appear to exist in a La La Land that doesn't resemble any country I live in! 👿

All cats to be fitted with bells.
I'm sure there are more important issues out there but this is my biggest bugbear, they are murdering rodents that need to be stopped.

Also, national identity card, this is used to record everything from your national insurance number for access to the NHS to your driving license status.

The local trains I use sometimes to get to work and back are generally full, but they can't run them any more frequently because they're on main lines which are full of faster trains that don't stop at the smaller stations. The only way to improve the local services around here would be to move the faster trains onto dedicated lines, which currently don't exist... hence HS2.

double decker trains.. focus on increasing capacity, reliability and cost

change the mechanisms for buying / Selling houses in most of the UK

Build lots of good quality basic housing

Like it or hate it, a lot economic activity involves the south east and London at some point. BUT there's no room, people don't want to or can't afford to live there, hence you need a viable way of getting there and back that preferably doesn't need a journey on the M6 or M1 from the Midlands, where there is room, and it's cheap to live.

People want trains they can afford to use that will get them to where they want to go in a timely and reliable manner in relative comfort. HS2 is a business train which will only by used by the rich or people whose employers are picking up the tab to get them to London and back in a time not much less than the current infrastructure

EDIT

double decker trains..

...people don't want to or can't afford to live (in the SE), hence you need a viable way of getting there and back that preferably doesn't need a journey on the M6 or M1 from the Midlands, where there is room, and it's cheap to live.

so HS2 is a commuter line? - keeping the well-paid jobs in the SE, only now you need to commute for 5 hours/day, how does that help?

phiiiiil - Member

hence HS2.

we're told that HS2 is about extra capacity, if that's true then the fast trains causing your problem will carry on running, your problem won't be fixed by HS2.

really? Says who?
I will be traveling on trains across Italy next month. Cheapest option is InterCity trains, but I will be traveling from Naples to Milan on the FrecciaRossa (Italian High Speed Train). I am not rich and will be paying myself.

italian trains are relevant how?

Nationalise railways.
Multiple of pay so that the CEO earns, say, 30x the wages of the lowest-paid.
More stringent bans on dangerous drivers. Automatic life ban for anyone killing someone through their own incompetence.
National Gay Service.
Scrap HS2 and trident.
Earned in UK, taxed in UK.
Welsh to be made language of commerce.
Ban religious schools - that's for your home, not education.
Proportional representation.
Turn House of Commons/Lords into a museum and set up a nicer chamber with fewer shouty gits.

National Gay Service.

Will we all be servicing the same gay?

HS2 is a business train which will only by used by the rich or people whose employers are picking up the tab to get them to London and back in a time not much less than the current infrastructure

Even if it is (which doesn't seem likely) it's also extra capacity, leaving more trains for more stations on the existing lines.

stop spending our money on sodding expensive, self-interested consultants and listen to actual people instead.

Lol yea.. Mavis from Levenshulme knows EXACTLY the best place to invest money to grow both regional and national economy.. course she does.

National Gay Service

"Gays available to all, free at the point of use"?

Hmm a lot of 'ban the...' how will all these bans be enforced?

Not sure on the whole HS2 debate, apart from the anything that encourages people to move northwards and stops the whole concrete over the SouthEast direction we're going right now.

I would vote to move our infrastructure# away from petrol e.g. power stations that burn our green waste (as happens in Sweden)
we can then leave the Saudi's, Russians, etc... to go swing and reduce our military costs.

Nationalised infrastructure and sensible reforms to the NHS - as no one really wants to pay for a gold plated service (they want to use it) so limits have to be set.

#Yes the greens propose this but they also propose a whole bunch of loony anarchist/communist things as well as things which are non-green e.g. vegetarianism for all (see how much fertiliser would be needed if everyone was veggie).

I need to lie down now before I continue... 😆

The justification for HS2 changes by the minute. Its about capacity. Its about speed. Its about rebalancing the economy. Blah, blah, blah.... Its all bollocks of course.

I suspect all that it'll end up doing is facilitating a load of London tossers buying up second homes in the Peak District given their new ease of access, and sucking yet more jobs to the capital

[i]keeping the well-paid jobs in the SE, how does that help?[/i]

it allows the people who don't live in the SE to have jobs in the SE. and it allows people who do have jobs in the SE to live (and spend money in) places other than the SE.