@1d7ca1eb Objection: •England• is too dysfunctional to do this. #Scotland has been reopening and electrifying railway lines near continuously since 2010 (and, in #Strathclyde, on a fairly regular basis before that). #Wales is also making good progress.
If instead we had started #HS2 from Edinburgh/Glasgow, we would probably have reached Manchester, Newcastle and Leeds by now, and on the way to Birmingham, w/ enough built momentum to make the expensive stretch to London then a certainty.
@9944ffcd 😆
That sounds like a fair objection. Perhaps that's a good plan. Start in Scotland and Wales and meet in the middle at Birmingham then march upon London and take over.
@1d7ca1eb Sounds a good plan! I was just about to write a further reply to add that many politicians in England north of London (including Birmingham) are of course rightly very annoyed that the money has all been squandered on more long tunnels to London than really needed (to placate NIMBYs), and that there have been many rail improvements in England too (especially by local PTEs), but for “national” projects it’s always London first and not spread properly fairly.
@9944ffcd
Suspect the primary reason is cost-disease from too many layers of private companies skimming off a profit and then sub-contracting the actual work.
Combined with a complete refusal to actually govern from the government. You can hire a contractor to lay a track but if you hire a private managers to manage it and set the prices they will fuck you.
Nibyism is number two though I reckon.
@9944ffcd @1d7ca1eb
Scotland needs to free itself from Tory fascism.
@0e262866 @9944ffcd Yeah. And England too should free itself of westminster rule too ideally.
The SNP still believe they need Westminster's permission to leave though don't they? That the English courts can adjudicate it.
While they still believe that, Scotland isn't independent in it's heart and will remain under the yoke like the rest of us. :(
@9944ffcd @1d7ca1eb Does this mean that England needs to have its own regional administration?
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