| A principled man has spoken! 22:03 - May 26 with 5389 views | BanksterDebtSlave |
https://www.theguardian.com/po
"In a scathing 5,700-word attack on the prime minister and his would-be successors published on Tuesday night, Blair argued that the party’s agenda should move firmly to the right, calling for the government to crack down on welfare spending, abandon net zero goals and support Donald Trump." |  |
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| A principled man has spoken! on 10:09 - May 28 with 833 views | DJR |
| A principled man has spoken! on 17:04 - May 27 by Ewan_Oozami |
"why does high speed rail track cost $25m per km in france but $260m in the uk?"
citation needed... |
I am not sure a citation is necessary because it is obvious that countries such as France do such things better and cheaper than the UK.
I suspect privatisation and fragmentation plays a large part, because, for example, the nationalised energy system built nuclear power stations at such speed that the UK became the first country with a civil nuclear power programme. |  | | |
| A principled man has spoken! on 10:09 - May 28 with 832 views | leitrimblue |
| A principled man has spoken! on 13:24 - May 27 by lowhouseblue |
the us wasn't my comparison.
why does high speed rail track cost $25m per km in france but $260m in the uk?
why is the neet rate in germany half that in the uk? why in germany, for claimants under the age of 25, if they reject one job offer do they lose their basic benefit completely (only receiving an allowance for housing and heating) and if they reject a second offer they lose all benefits? are the two linked? |
Why high speed track as cost 10 times more in the UK then France is definitely something that needs answering.
There may be genuine reasons such as different geologies, availability of aggregates, environmental and archaeological concerns etc. But I fear its at least partially to do with the government accepting very generous tender proposals during the original tender process.
They should have just returned them all and told all the competing companies to try again. Every company involved with that scheme as made an absolute fortune. |  | | |
| A principled man has spoken! on 10:11 - May 28 with 821 views | nrb1985 |
Joining this one late so no idea if it's been covered but TB was on the News Agents yday and was a lot more balanced and provided the context for his views that's missing from the Guardian piece - quelle surprise (an awful rag, as bad as the Telegraph).
In essence, he's not wrong on many of the points - albeit I don't agree with all of his solutions.
We are now living in completely different times to the harmonised global system most of us were lucky enough to grow up in. It's going to be increasingly fractured as governments scramble for energy and resource security. Whether we like it or not, that is the reality that confronts us.
We are woefully unprepared for that, Blair is right about that. |  | | |
| A principled man has spoken! on 10:24 - May 28 with 773 views | Ewan_Oozami |
| A principled man has spoken! on 10:09 - May 28 by DJR |
I am not sure a citation is necessary because it is obvious that countries such as France do such things better and cheaper than the UK.
I suspect privatisation and fragmentation plays a large part, because, for example, the nationalised energy system built nuclear power stations at such speed that the UK became the first country with a civil nuclear power programme. |
I was thinking about the specific cost comparison that Lowers made - are they comparing the same type of railway build? Or just specifically big projects? In France, big cities already have provision for high speed lines to come in to the centres, England doesn't, Yes, privatisation and operator fragmentation play a part, as does Britain's planning bureaucracy and crazy subcontracting processes - but also land ownership distribution is different, France has more widespread, decentralized private ownership of land than Britain. England specifically has one of the most unequal land distributions in the world, heavily concentrated in the hands of the aristocracy, the Crown, and large corporations.
If Lowers was making the point that Britain is inefficient at doing these thing compared to other countries then you also have to look the reasons, not just quote numbers. Personally, I would rather see more light rail projects around the country commisioned and run by local or regional groups than big flagship projects like HS2.
I can't even remember what the original question was now! |  |
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| A principled man has spoken! on 10:35 - May 28 with 751 views | SuperKieranMcKenna |
| A principled man has spoken! on 10:24 - May 28 by Ewan_Oozami |
I was thinking about the specific cost comparison that Lowers made - are they comparing the same type of railway build? Or just specifically big projects? In France, big cities already have provision for high speed lines to come in to the centres, England doesn't, Yes, privatisation and operator fragmentation play a part, as does Britain's planning bureaucracy and crazy subcontracting processes - but also land ownership distribution is different, France has more widespread, decentralized private ownership of land than Britain. England specifically has one of the most unequal land distributions in the world, heavily concentrated in the hands of the aristocracy, the Crown, and large corporations.
If Lowers was making the point that Britain is inefficient at doing these thing compared to other countries then you also have to look the reasons, not just quote numbers. Personally, I would rather see more light rail projects around the country commisioned and run by local or regional groups than big flagship projects like HS2.
I can't even remember what the original question was now! |
They also have twice as much land so it’s much cheaper, and they don’t have to chop down swathes of ancient woodland. Tbh England is small enough we don’t even need high speed rail (Eurostar aside) you can get London to Edinburgh in only 4 hours. I agree it would have been much more financially viable to upgrade conventional rail and capacity. | | | |
| A principled man has spoken! on 10:50 - May 28 with 705 views | Swansea_Blue |
| A principled man has spoken! on 09:52 - May 28 by DJR |
This from Blunkett, with his background in South Yorkshire, was good.
“We are on the edge of major technological revolution and the last two big ones, which was the 19th century and the 1980s, saw the most enormous number of victims.
The lesson from the 80s, where I was leader of Sheffield at the time, where we lost 50,000 jobs in three years, was that a social democratic government would not block modernisation and change but would be on the side of those navigating their way through it. Make it a positive rather than a negative in their lives.
What was missing from Tony’s essay and his interview was a recognition that government aren’t just there to facilitate the Industrial Revolution, they’re to facilitate people being able to live through it with a degree of dignity and to come out the other end seeing it as a positive gain rather than [being] victims."
And there was nothing in Blair's essay that acknowledged, or had measures to counter, the rise of parties like Reform. [Post edited 28 May 9:53]
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I agree. You can go back further and look at Maggie’s ‘reforms’ too. It’s not necessarily the changes that are the problem (we’ll always have change), it’s the failure to support people who lose out through those changes. The failure to have a plan for how we can all move forward as a society. We’re very much an ‘I’m alright Jack’ society and people are made to feel they’ve failed and are worthless if they’re not one of the lucky ones. No wonder people start to look to shameless populists who promise easy answers to complex issues. |  |
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| A principled man has spoken! on 10:51 - May 28 with 704 views | DJR |
| A principled man has spoken! on 10:24 - May 28 by Ewan_Oozami |
I was thinking about the specific cost comparison that Lowers made - are they comparing the same type of railway build? Or just specifically big projects? In France, big cities already have provision for high speed lines to come in to the centres, England doesn't, Yes, privatisation and operator fragmentation play a part, as does Britain's planning bureaucracy and crazy subcontracting processes - but also land ownership distribution is different, France has more widespread, decentralized private ownership of land than Britain. England specifically has one of the most unequal land distributions in the world, heavily concentrated in the hands of the aristocracy, the Crown, and large corporations.
If Lowers was making the point that Britain is inefficient at doing these thing compared to other countries then you also have to look the reasons, not just quote numbers. Personally, I would rather see more light rail projects around the country commisioned and run by local or regional groups than big flagship projects like HS2.
I can't even remember what the original question was now! |
Fair points, and I didn't support HS2 from the outset.
Having travelled to the north by train for various games, it draws into sharp focus the contrast between the vast amounts of investment in transport in London and the South East.
Indeed, the hybrid (ie. not fully electric) trains to Sheffield haven't replaced all the existing diesel trains but are differently configured which, given the uncertainty of knowing which train will be doing which journey, means that it is no longer possible to reserve a seat.
As you suggest, far better to have spent a fraction of the cost of HS2 on electrifying the line to Sheffield, and replacing the whole fleet with electric trains.
I might add that I had planned to go to the Hull game last season and meet up with my son who is in Leeds. But as he couldn't get a train back to Leeds after the game, I didn't bother going, but that to me sums up all that is wrong with the transport system up north, given the relatively short distance between Hull and Leeds.
EDIT: another galling thing about the trains to Sheffield is that they are only five carriages long, with two of them first class. [Post edited 28 May 10:57]
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| A principled man has spoken! on 17:26 - May 29 with 549 views | DJR |
Kemi knocks it out the park. 
Kemi Badenoch has written her response to Tony Blair’s article about Labour and its future. In an article for the Times, she says it shows he should join the Conservatives.
She says:
So you’re right: we need problem-solvers. It’s why I trained as an engineer and later, why I came into politics. I know that real problem-solving starts with diagnosing the root cause. It means facing the facts as they are, not as we wish them to be. Well, Tony surely now you must accept that the facts of life are Conservative.
There is only one show in town for the political project you proposed. In the short term, the Conservative project is relentlessly focused on delivering a high-growth, lower-immigration economy, cheaper energy by scrapping Milliband’s Net Zero targets, reducing Starmer’s ballooning welfare bill and putting the money directly into defence to increase our military strength. If we want to lead the world in AI, and get those businesses to employ people and create growth, we need to stop Reeves hammering them with more costs and stop Rayner crushing them with thousands of pages of employment law.
Everything you outlined is what I have already made Conservative policy over the past 18 months. I even published them in an alternative King’s Speech …
You are right to mock Burnham’s self-serving hypocrisy — saying that Britain has been on the wrong path for 40 years or claiming the 1970s are the example to follow. Yet this, the worst of the past, is the only future Labour now offers. Don’t expect Labour to change. Don’t waste your time with these essays. Only one person in your party takes them seriously and he’s helping the police with their inquiries. If you want serious change at the next election my advice to you — as it is to everyone who is sick of Starmerism — is to vote Conservative. After all, as someone once said, things can only get better. | | | |
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| A principled man has spoken! on 17:35 - May 29 with 510 views | lowhouseblue |
| A principled man has spoken! on 17:26 - May 29 by DJR |
Kemi knocks it out the park.
Kemi Badenoch has written her response to Tony Blair’s article about Labour and its future. In an article for the Times, she says it shows he should join the Conservatives.
She says:
So you’re right: we need problem-solvers. It’s why I trained as an engineer and later, why I came into politics. I know that real problem-solving starts with diagnosing the root cause. It means facing the facts as they are, not as we wish them to be. Well, Tony surely now you must accept that the facts of life are Conservative.
There is only one show in town for the political project you proposed. In the short term, the Conservative project is relentlessly focused on delivering a high-growth, lower-immigration economy, cheaper energy by scrapping Milliband’s Net Zero targets, reducing Starmer’s ballooning welfare bill and putting the money directly into defence to increase our military strength. If we want to lead the world in AI, and get those businesses to employ people and create growth, we need to stop Reeves hammering them with more costs and stop Rayner crushing them with thousands of pages of employment law.
Everything you outlined is what I have already made Conservative policy over the past 18 months. I even published them in an alternative King’s Speech …
You are right to mock Burnham’s self-serving hypocrisy — saying that Britain has been on the wrong path for 40 years or claiming the 1970s are the example to follow. Yet this, the worst of the past, is the only future Labour now offers. Don’t expect Labour to change. Don’t waste your time with these essays. Only one person in your party takes them seriously and he’s helping the police with their inquiries. If you want serious change at the next election my advice to you — as it is to everyone who is sick of Starmerism — is to vote Conservative. After all, as someone once said, things can only get better. |
the key difference being that blair wants growth in order to fund health and education, improve the material condition of the many, and re-ignite real social mobility. all of those things become possible again in a growing economy. |  |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| A principled man has spoken! on 18:19 - May 29 with 474 views | DJR |
| A principled man has spoken! on 17:35 - May 29 by lowhouseblue |
the key difference being that blair wants growth in order to fund health and education, improve the material condition of the many, and re-ignite real social mobility. all of those things become possible again in a growing economy. |
I said in an earlier post that Blair is at heart a One Nation Tory, and in that sense he is probably different to Badenoch. But that doesn't stop Kemi making mischief.
But I have read his speech which only contains six references to growth, and it is not clear to me from the essay what precise measures he proposes to ensure growth apart from giving free rein to AI. I have also heard him on the Newsagents talking about his essay. In effect, it seems to me to be a rather vague reworking of his Third Way,
I think the thing with Blair is that he always talks a good game and his essay extols what he managed to achieve whilst he was in government but things were different then because prior to the great financial crash growth was baked into the system.
Added to that, the essay itself doesn't actually suggest his motivation is as you suggest. In effect, it seems to me an argument for following the US, as opposed to the European model, and it is not clear to me that the US model has the trickle down effect you suggest.
[Post edited 29 May 18:26]
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| A principled man has spoken! on 22:29 - May 29 with 384 views | Herbivore |
Not had a chance to fully fact check this but the account looks reputable. This is a nice illustration of why Blair is out of touch. Our economic system is increasingly ensuring more and more wealth goes to shareholders and corporate profits and less and less goes to workers. Pushing that same economic model in the vain hope that the trend miraculously reverses itself is not any kind of worthwhile solution.
Hourly wages are up 3% since 2019. Corporate profits are up 50%.
Labor’s piece of the economic pie is the smallest it’s been in over 75 years, while corporate profits’ share is the *biggest* it’s been since 1950.
This is what a rigged economy looks like. — Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T17:01:45.189426Z
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| A principled man has spoken! on 22:40 - May 29 with 371 views | lowhouseblue |
| A principled man has spoken! on 22:29 - May 29 by Herbivore |
Not had a chance to fully fact check this but the account looks reputable. This is a nice illustration of why Blair is out of touch. Our economic system is increasingly ensuring more and more wealth goes to shareholders and corporate profits and less and less goes to workers. Pushing that same economic model in the vain hope that the trend miraculously reverses itself is not any kind of worthwhile solution.
Hourly wages are up 3% since 2019. Corporate profits are up 50%.
Labor’s piece of the economic pie is the smallest it’s been in over 75 years, while corporate profits’ share is the *biggest* it’s been since 1950.
This is what a rigged economy looks like. — Robert Reich (@rbreich.bsky.social) 2026-05-29T17:01:45.189426Z
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lovely, but what you need is uk data not us data:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy
https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy | |
| And so as the loose-bowelled pigeon of time swoops low over the unsuspecting tourist of destiny, and the flatulent skunk of fate wanders into the air-conditioning system of eternity, I notice it's the end of the show |
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| A principled man has spoken! on 00:24 - May 30 with 323 views | redrickstuhaart |
| A principled man has spoken! on 17:35 - May 29 by lowhouseblue |
the key difference being that blair wants growth in order to fund health and education, improve the material condition of the many, and re-ignite real social mobility. all of those things become possible again in a growing economy. |
Blair wants growth to line his master's pockets and to stop brown people.
Absolute Trumpist now. | |
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| A principled man has spoken! on 14:12 - May 30 with 109 views | DJR |
Whilst Blair believes he did no wrong, it is interesting to note that the position with respect to NEETs, highlighted by Milburn, is presumably a direct consequence of Blair's "education education, education" mantra, and in particular the notion that academic and university education, rather a mix which included proper vocational training, was the way forward. | | | |
| A principled man has spoken! on 15:04 - May 30 with 67 views | Ewan_Oozami |
| A principled man has spoken! on 14:12 - May 30 by DJR |
Whilst Blair believes he did no wrong, it is interesting to note that the position with respect to NEETs, highlighted by Milburn, is presumably a direct consequence of Blair's "education education, education" mantra, and in particular the notion that academic and university education, rather a mix which included proper vocational training, was the way forward. |
I believe Blair's vision on this (may have been articulated at the time), and not that I agree with the idea necessarily, was to educate Brits to do higher value jobs and let immigration from the EU fill the lower value jobs void underneath - which if you think about it, is not too far from what the tech bros are proposing now, except using AI and robotics instead of immigrants and any human inbetween is disposable? | |
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