Was the recession the Tory dream?

An excuse not to invest. An excuse to reduce costs. An excuse to cut back. An excuse to privatise. An excuse to sell. An excuse for self preservation. An excuse to Profiteer??

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Selling off our Roads??

Is it all bad? I guess there are two ways to look at it. Privatisation and competition with the trains will improve road quality and provide a better and safer environment for road travel. The other view is increased cost, less investment in low volume A roads and even less on b and c roads. A restriction on top of fuel costs of the road haulage industry and lower level of mobility in the less affluent areas of society.

What if both of these things were true. What if roads became safer and quieter, funding for roads, rail and other public transport improved and we developed a long terms infrastructure strategy for the whole of the country.

This is an ideal world where social capital matters and not just profit. Fund Managers demand profits and in terms of roads, that would mean more form less. Our experience of rail privatisation should warn us to leave alone.

Yes we can be more efficient but lets improve by process not by auction.

It's all Green Out There

You don’t have to travel far in the UK to find greenery. We are awash with it. For a small apparently overpopulated island we have a lot of space.

Maybe I am biased, maybe Yorkshire means that we have an embarrassment of riches in terms of fields, woodland and moors to explore. On the other hand, maybe we just overlook what we have in front of us.

A very post war debate still rages on in the UK. Protect our Greenbelt, yet on this picturesque train journey from Newcastle to Dewsbury I am reminded we have a very broad belt. Does this mean I am anti Green Belt. No in fact the opposite I am very pro. We may have a lot of space, but we don’t use it or enjoy it. Pleasure is derived from indoor pursuits. My favourite distraction to a better society, the TV. Games consoles and the internet whilst keeping the mid active, lead to a leadening of the legs and a widening of the waist band.

If we don’t care about a quality of life then please continue. Build at will on our Green Spaces. Build your new homes ever smaller and ever cheaper. Let’s not focus or concentrate on improving our standard of living but lets just have more and more for less.

I am sorry but that is not for me.