tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post120115984449042750..comments2024-03-27T09:14:27.496+00:00Comments on All That Is Solid ...: Introducing Cynical EmpiricismPhilhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-60272975900892827732014-01-30T23:14:05.715+00:002014-01-30T23:14:05.715+00:00Re: HS2, you completely misread my point. Even the...Re: HS2, you completely misread my point. Even the bullrushes know that it makes sense connecting Brum and London first. What you misunderstand is why does *the work* have to begin in London and move outward. Why not Brum and toward London?Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-32212000377706351032014-01-30T20:50:38.643+00:002014-01-30T20:50:38.643+00:00Frankly your comments about HS2 are worse than any...Frankly your comments about HS2 are worse than anything in Dan Hodges' (admittedly poor) article. The reason London & Birmingham are to be joined first is because that is where the capacity crunch will hit first, even on extremely conservative demand projections. And why exactly do "wiring up the country" and HS2 have to be either/or? In the real world they are both being invested in.<br /><br />As for Whitehall, vast amounts of it are located outside London. The problem is that as with corporations, all the higher ups are in London. Until a way is found to break this, Britain will continue to get ever more centralised. And why is moving the capital out of London such a daft idea? London is in fact quite unusual in being both the seat of government and financial capital. And I can imagine many MPs from oop North would love to commute to Birmingham in preference.Ed Wintergreennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-9709190863669583022014-01-30T18:26:01.718+00:002014-01-30T18:26:01.718+00:00That you cannot grasp the self-awareness demonstra...That you cannot grasp the self-awareness demonstrates a clear case of projection ;)Philhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06298147857234479278noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-44955864587161018582014-01-30T18:12:27.598+00:002014-01-30T18:12:27.598+00:00The lack of lefty self awareness in this article o...The lack of lefty self awareness in this article on asserting generalities which you somehow "know" (eg all tories are bastards out to do over the poor defenceless masses) by arguing from selective and isolated specifics which reinforce the collective group think is jaw dropping. Entertaining though. Best wishesAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-55007837924734964942014-01-30T16:44:40.673+00:002014-01-30T16:44:40.673+00:00This is the problem of NuLab, it's so infected...This is the problem of NuLab, it's so infected with neo-conservatism that its adherents can't even see when they're repeating right-wing nonsense about Government needing to abdicate responsibility for markets.<br /><br />Any decent Labour person should be able to see that one purpose of Government is to moderate the market for the good of the people of all of Britain. But then again, would a decent Labour person be offered a berth at the Telegraph?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01029102000992532609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-10121182354554773162014-01-30T16:38:31.033+00:002014-01-30T16:38:31.033+00:00Yes, govt departments tend to gravitate towards th...Yes, govt departments tend to gravitate towards the centre of power, so you need to move Government itself from London. Which might help weaken the stranglehold the legal and banking professions have.<br /><br />So yes, let's build a new government new town well away from London. With allocated accommodation for MPs so that we cease to have to pay for the double mortgage idiocy. <br /><br />It has to be near good transport links and an airport, but with plenty of room to expand, so somewhere near Manchester would work. If not Stoke, how about Preston?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01029102000992532609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4486641877026778105.post-500557397036520852014-01-30T12:13:57.059+00:002014-01-30T12:13:57.059+00:00Moving the government to Birmingham a "daft o...Moving the government to Birmingham a "daft outlier" - yes, moving it to Salford within reach of the BBC which saw the way the wind was blowing and relocated significant operations is a much more sensible idea. It amazes me that in the year when Scotland is voting for independence, much of the left in England will not even countenance a change of post-code for parliament. Of course if Salford was selected, Orsdall could be compulsorily purchased and two problems solved at once. (For southern readers with a short memory, Orsdall is the only place in mainland Britain where shots were fired at the police during a riot.)Kennoreply@blogger.com