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i'm not even sure what i'm arguing about anymore.
oh, yes.
what MSP just said, that.
1. Nationalise railways
2. Introduce an industrial policy underwritten by bonds bought with QE
3. A dignity wage which any company wishing to pay out dividends will need to pay.
4. All public bodies required to pay living wage
5. Any business delivering public sector contracts must pay the living wage.
6. House building programme of social housing and mutual housing underwritten by bonds bought with QE.
7. Legal limits on executive pay.
8. Scrap free schools, independent schools, grammar schools, CoE, Catholic and all the rest, schools will now be comprehensive and under LEA.
In order to reduce homophobia. *obviously* as the one who suggested it I get dibs on the blokes.
No you don't - you get a girl. Bisexuals get.. a dog. People into dogs get.. a cat. And so on.
i can't see any reason why HS2 will be cheaper to use than current trains, if anything, there'll be a premium.
Sorry, didn't realise you needed [b]everything[/b] explained to you. I never said HS2 (or any high speed trains) are cheaper than other trains, they do operate at a premium but some people are prepared to pay that premium providing that it's not excessive. My Italian route is considerably more expensive by fast and comfortable train but will be sufficiently faster and more comfortable to justify the extra cash. But the amount of extra cash is finite and with cheaper rail and air options available there's a limit to how much more I'd have been prepared to spend.
ok, that's cool.
and as for policies:
stop buggering about with the national curriculum.
scrap school league tables.
I never said HS2 (or any high speed trains) are cheaper than other trains, they do operate at a premium but some people are prepared to pay
Like I said, it's going to be a rich man's train funded by the taxpayer. I think if it was going to cost a few billion, no one would object much. But £50 billion? And we can probably rely on that being £100 billion by the time it's built, in 20 years time. £50 billion could revolutionise the local public transport systems and commuter rail networks in every major city in Britain in a fraction of the time it will take HS2 to be built. And that's without even having to ask the question of why anyone needs to get from Manchester to London in less than the current 2 hours it takes.
Can't believe so many people want to nationalise railways, have you forgotten how utterly cr*p BR were and what a dire state the railway infrastructure was in.
Multiple of pay so that the CEO earns, say, 30x the wages of the lowest-paid.
Nope...I'd set it more like 5x the pay of the lowest paid worker.
National Gay Service
I want to see this written into policy somewhere...make it happen Greens!
Nope...I'd set it more like 5x the pay of the lowest paid worker.
Hope your ready for a rather big reduction in taxes.
[i] And that's without even having to ask the question of why anyone needs to get from Manchester to London in less than the current 2 hours it takes.[/i]
are you really not paying attention?
In order for the other things to happen [i]£50 billion could revolutionise the local public transport systems and commuter rail networks in every major city in Britain[/i] you need to remove the long distance and inter-city trains from the current network. If you want better train links you HAVE to start with HS2, phase 1 goes to Brum, phase 2 Sheffield Leeds Manchester, then scotland and Wales. Then connect the whole lot up to HS1 and Robert is your father's brother, you can train (rather than fly) to pretty much everywhere in the UK and mainland Europe from anywhere to anywhere.
Sounds like a good idea to me.
And, you do know that it goes right through the stock broker belt in the SE, right? I mean anything that pisses off Col. cleftpallete-smythe (RET.) because the trains is going through his golf club HAS to be a good thing, doesn't it?
1. All Parliamentary lobbying to be made public.
2. Lucrative private jobs for MPs, awarded for their patronatge whilst in power, to be tried as corruption.
3. Ban TTIP.
In short: reduce the power of the wealthy / big corporations to influence the policies of Government.
all good ideas in this thread, here is mine
All MPs are required to (as well as resident in area for 5yrs) show evidence of 6yrs continuous PAYE
this is to stop MP as a cushy job straight from the uni debating hall via internship
ok there are downsides to this, the ageism - yes you couldn't get a job as an MP until 21 years old, or 27 for a graduate but this is still a lot younger than anyone in the HoC at the moment
What about SME business owners etc ? well you are more important to the UK than an MP so carry on generating wealth and jobs 🙂
what about Contractors? er, tough luck, go and get paid if you really want to be an MP that badly
actually I would ban internships across all sectors in the UK, they are a self-selection process for the highest wealth who can afford to work for nothing (see MPs, journalism, broadcast, fashion etc)
[i]have you forgotten how utterly cr*p BR were and what a dire state the railway infrastructure was in.[/i]
right, because the only option is between privately run trains (run for profit rather than passengers) and a 1970's version of BR...
Introduce 100% capital gains tax for property investments owned by foreign nationals. Future purchases to require EU citizenship.
Ban on government purchase (NHS, Councils, Government Departments, Armed Forces) of products from Nestle and Kraft.
Scrap HS2, rebuild all intercity routes to quad-track Bern Gauge standard, allowing use of double decker trains and bi-modal freight. Railways to be run under NFP scheme like Network Rail and East Coast.
Vignette for all foreign vehicles using our roads.
Dual A66, A69 & A1 along with a string of other neglected key routes throughout the country. Make roads ministers and mandarins live and commute along a single carriageway stretch until dualling completed.
Admit that heathrow and gatwick aren't the solution and outsource our hub airport to somewhere miserable, in the middle of the sea with no other redeeming features. Schiphol springs to mind.
Ban religious instruction to the under 18s.
Sports equipment to be VAT free.
Datacentre air conditioning to be forbidden. So they want to be cooled? Put them in a barn!
nickc - Member
have you forgotten how utterly cr*p BR were and what a dire state the railway infrastructure was in.right, because the only option is between privately run trains (run for profit rather than passengers) and a 1970's version of BR...
We don't have that either. Contestable markets anyone?
Can't believe so many people want to nationalise railways, have you forgotten how utterly cr*p BR were and what a dire state the railway infrastructure was in.
Yep, they were rubbish. However now they're privatized the state is actually paying more in subsidy than they did for BR. There's a lot of state money going to fund foreign (often still nationalized) companies who've bought stakes in our rail network. If we return it to state control then the state has accountability, a nationwide procurement policy and thus a greater economy of scale.
this is to stop MP as a cushy job straight from the uni debating hall via internship
Do any do that? I thought it normally involved a few years as a Party researcher, then a SPAD, all on PAYE earnings, before being parachuted into a safe seat.
I'm all for the abolition of Tuesdays.
you need to remove the long distance and inter-city trains from the current network.
I don't think they're proposing that though. The old virgin (or whatever company is running them) 'slow' trains are still going to be there, and they'll still clog up the network.
And in revolutionising local transport, I was talking about more than just trains, but proper integrated public transport which combines buses, light rail and the larger rail network into one system, rather than the deregulated shambles which currently exists. You know, like London already has. You could have that up and running in a few years in every major city for a fraction of the money spent on HS2.
you realise that in a couple of short hours we have more of a manifesto than UKIP managed.
we do need to address a couple of issues tho
1. anyone still backing HS2 has to go back and read the all the differing justifications used so far.
2. the two recommenders of national ID cards are to be escorted from the premises, the poster who wants to privatise Defence can handle that.
PJM1974 - you're getting my vote. I ****ing hate Tuesdays. Which day are we having to replace it. I vote for an extra Sunday!
proper integrated public transport which combines buses, light rail and the larger rail network into one system, rather than the deregulated shambles which currently exists
I think tyne & wear are about to do just that with the local councils voting to change they way they oversee bus route funding. We might actually see a return to the 80s where the busses fed the trains and metro rather than try and compete against them
I don't think they're proposing that though. The old virgin (or whatever company is running them) 'slow' trains are still going to be there, and they'll still clog up the network.
I'd be willing to bet they'd change the service - add more stops on the fast services or local services - to get people onto HS2. Makes sense.
Re BR - yes they were shit, but this isn't the solution. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Publically owned utilities and transport don't HAVE to be shite. They just often are. TfL for example works pretty well in reality.
I'd be willing to bet they'd change the service - add more stops on the fast services or local services - to get people onto HS2. Makes sense.
Sense? We're talking about government transport policy here. Good luck with 'sense'. Seen any evidence of it for the last 20 years?
Mine is very simple.
[b]
Less bureaucrats[/b] 😮
Get rid of as many as we can. They must not be fed but make to work ...
The rest you can take care yourselves. i.e. remain in EU, out of EU, open border, close border, mass migration, anti-migration, satanic cult, love cult, mass orgies, God, gods vs science, capitalist, communist, obese, diet, NHS or private health care, trains, planes or cars, whatever school systems, you can be white, black, blue, pink, purple, alien, monster etc ... I don't care.
I just want less ZM bureaucrats - if you think carefully we are surrounded by this bunch of blood suckers.
If you get a reduction in the number of ZM bureaucrats you will see that life will certainly improve. Yes, you need some of them but certainly not as many as you see now and FFS try to deal with your problems yourself rather than blaming others.
😯
FEWER bureaucrats. More grammar education!
Sense? We're talking about government transport policy here. Good luck with 'sense'. Seen any evidence of it for the last 20 years?
More like commercial sense. They have to make their money back, so they have to get people using it.
proper integrated public transport which combines buses, light rail and the larger rail network into one system, rather than the deregulated shambles which currently exists
Indeed - I think the last time anyone (was it Tyne & Wear) managed this Thatcher got in and f***ed it over.
However, we do need to learn from Europe (rather than the septics) that public transport is a service and therefore needs subsidising because it allows people to get to work.
As to banning things meh e.g independent/Grammar schools. If the state system was up to scratch they would wither and die (or just be full of nobs who would otherwise clog up the state system) without needing to be banned.
More effective investment in young people's education and opportunities too - not quite sure how but whatever we have now doesn't seem to be working.
However, we do need to learn from Europe (rather than the septics) that public transport is a service and therefore needs subsidising because it allows people to get to work.
Exactly. Public transport with subsidised fares is as much an infrastructure necessity as roads, railways, power and water. Trouble is in this country people are so stupid they equate subsidies with 'handouts' and instantly think of scrounging doleys getting something for nothing. Unless it's the nuclear industry of course, in which case they can have a blank cheque from the taxpayer and no one will bat an eyelid.
[i] 'slow' trains are still going to be there, and they'll still clog up the network.[/i]
make your mind up, what is it you want? 😆
the slow "stop at every station" trains (ie the local intergrated service) that you want has to run on something. The idea of HS2 (and the other high speed lines) is to remove the congestion that is caused by running high speed destination to destination trains and local services on the same bit of track, the railway effectively currently runs on A roads, and it needs a motorway network
Plus, if we reduce the cost of public transport especially rail (In Germany you travel from Berlin to Munich nearly 400 miles, cost €30. which is now £23 quid.) then the price of accommodation in London for example might drop as folk could actually afford to commute.
And as part of my plan to two tier the Motorways I'd run the High Speed rail on the upper tier.
make your mind up, what is it you want?
That's what the 'quotes' were for 😉
the railway effectively currently runs on A roads, and it needs a motorway network
And extending that analogy further, HS2 will be an expensive toll road that only the rich or those driving company cars can afford to drive on. I'm all for increasing capacity, but only increasing it in one niche area at a ridiculously exorbitant price tag without any real benefit to the rest of the transport system makes no sense whatsoever.
me neither, good job that's not what HS2 is.
Can't believe so many people want to nationalise railways, have you forgotten how utterly cr*p BR were and what a dire state the railway infrastructure was in.
Decades of underinvestment will do that. But look at some of the continental operators which are state run, eg SNCF, Trenitalia and you see a decent integrated network with clean, reliable trains. Both Deutches Bahn and SNCF (state run rail companies) operate services in the UK so effectively the UK taxpayer is subsidising the German and French railways. Isn't that good of us?
And as part of my plan to two tier the Motorways I'd run the High Speed rail on the upper tier.
You've not been near a high speed electric line when a train passes have you? Our alternate policy would be to run the trains on the lower tier, shielding the environment from pantograph and line noises.
French railways away from the LGV network is miserable. Slow inefficient, irregular. 5 hours it takes from Lyons Airport to Borg-st-Moriz on the regular train. Its a similar tale on DB. Dutch, Austrian and Swiss are markedly better. Trenitalia are hilarious.
My experience of the train from Paris to Normandy was that the rolling stock was no better than the UK, it was nuts crowded, worse than the London Underground, the local stations have no overhead cover so if it rains/snows/hails your stuffed and the paving stones on the edge of the platform were completely loose and dangerous.
TGV's might be better, but as the French have just p*ssed a load of money up the wall because they ordered 2000 too wide trains for the stations, then it's hard to see SNCF being a model to follow.
One child policy.
No nationalisation of public property above a set value in a single government term without receiving the support of a majority of opposition parties. Want to sell the royal mail to your mates? That's fine but don't slip it in mid term and make an irreversible change. If it's essential in the short term then get crossparty support.
Make breaking an election pledge a bookable offence. Not sure exactly how to punish this though. Punitive charges against the political party responsible possibly?
All press retractions, corrections and apologies to be printed on the same page as the original story and the same size, every day for a month. Retraction/correction story to be written by a rival newspaper, or Charlie Brooker.
And yep, scrap trident replacement. But as a wider issue- we're already throwing fortunes at trident replacement, but the vote on replacement isn't scheduled til 2016. We shouldn't be spending billions of pounds on a project before it's been voted for, regardless of what it's for.
I'd ban all motorised transport on a Sunday apart from emergency vehicles. It would become the weekly walk, run and bike day. Also ban Sunday shopping and let the shop workers have some time with their families.
What if they hate their families, but love shoes and handbags?
Every town and village would have a drop-in centre for people who can't stand their families. It would sell alcohol and be called something like The Red Lion. People who like shoes and handbags should be at home on Sundays doing the roast dinner, 🙂
kennyp - Member
I'd ban all motorised transport on a Sunday apart from emergency vehicles. It would become the weekly walk, run and bike day. Also ban Sunday shopping and let the shop workers have some time with their families.
The last lot to suggest that kind of thing are not so popular on here!
I'm voting for Kenny!
Actually.... combined with the earlier suggestion of abolishing Tuesday and replacing it with a second Sunday, this could really be a vote winner
Flat rate tax with a sensible no tax threshold for everyone
Earn here Pay here
Free university education based on merit to be reinstated and funded by the extra tax generated above it's a disgrace that kids leave uni 30k in the red
A proper social housing programme and abolish the right to buy
No more than two homes for any person or couple and no slyly sticking them in other peoples names property portfolio my arse.
Overseas residents to prove long term domicile here or they can't buy property, homes should be homes not investments for those that can at the expense of those that can't for me that's the biggest scandal in this country. A decent home should be affordable to buy or to rent if you choose to.
One year's national service. One man, one vote. Nationalise railtrack, electric cabling, gas pipes and build a national water pipe network. Relax planning laws for self build houses. Abolish the monarchy/social system of dukes/lords etc. Give grants to entrepreneurs, not defence companies! And free beer.
Dismantle the House of Lords, preferably with the Lords still in it and then replace it with an elected upper house somewhat like the Australian senate.
Also bring in an English parliament not based in Westminster - maybe York?
Then we could have a properly United Kingdom.
Oh, and allow only registered voters in an electorate to make political donations for that electorate only, and with a small upper limit.
Imprison the directors of any company who made political donations.
Disband the state propaganda news and current affairs service aka BBC.