A Manifesto For Liverpool City Region
The title of this post is the same as that of this document from the Heseltine Institute of Public Policy, Practice and Place.
The Heseltine Institute for Public Policy, Practice and Place. describes itself like this on its home page on the University of Liverpool web site.
An interdisciplinary research institute focusing on the development of sustainable and inclusive cities and city regions.
The main sections of the document are as follows.
- How Can We Reduce Health Inequalities?
- How Do We Meet Our Net Zero Goals?
- How Can We Address The Cost Of Living Crisis?
- How Can We Deliver Sustainable Mobility?
- How Can We Address The Challenges And Meet The Opportunities Of Artificial Intelligence?
- How Do We Build Enough New Homes In The Right Places?
- How Should We Care For The Most Vulnerable In Society?
- How Can We Maintain A Vibrant And Inclusive Cultural Life?
- How Do We Restore Trust In Democracy?
These are nine very important questions and the document is worth a good read.
Is This The World’s Smallest Hydrogen Car?
I typed “World’s smallest hydrogen car” into Google and found this web page.
This is the first paragraph of the product description.
The smallest hydrogen fuel-cell car ever commercialized. A small-scale model of a hydrogen fuel-cell application. A funny didactical toy for kids and… adults too!
But it only costs € 99 with the VAT included.
For something more useful, this web page details a ride-on hydrogen fuel-cell lawnmower.
When I find products, like these that can be bought on-line, it strengthens my belief, that at some time in the next few years, someone will demonstrate an Issigonis Mini-sized car that will run on hydrogen.
We must all remember, that engineering is the science of the possible, whereas politics is dreams of the impossible.
Thousands Pay More Tax In ‘Chaotic’ Yousaf Budget
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article in The Times.
It has this sub-heading.
Efforts to plug £1.5bn funding hole put Scotland at a disadvantage, say business leaders
I have a feeling that the rise in income tax will have unintended consequences.
The UK’s Current Hydrogen Plans
Last week, the UK Government announced grants for eleven big hydrogen projects, around the UK, with two in Scotland. The new Scottish electrolysers will be playing a large part in decarbonising the Scotch whisky industry and HGVs.
I wrote Major Boost For Hydrogen As UK Unlocks New Investment And Jobs to describe the investments scope and benefits.
The Government estimated that these grants will create 700 jobs, across the UK.
How many quality high-paid jobs will this funding create in Scotland? As two of the eleven projects are based in Scotland, it could be around 127 quality jobs.
More UK Hydrogen Plans Are On The Way
The Government also indicated that this was only the first stage of bringing hydrogen production to the UK, so I will expect more high-paid quality jobs will be created.
Projected UK Offshore Wind Power
This Wikipedia entry is a list of all installed, under-construction and proposed offshore wind farms in the UK.
Aggregating the new unbuilt wind farms says the following capacity will very likely be installed in the UK in the next few years.
- Scotland – 32, 750 MW.
- England – 25,558 MW
- Wales – 700 MW
As more proposals have been called for, particularly in the Celtic Sea, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to add perhaps another 10,000 MW.
Wind farms are also proposed for around the island of Ireland and in the waters of the Channel Islands.
Upgrading Of The National Grid
These three posts could well be forerunners of other posts, I will write in the next few months.
- National Grid Fast-Tracks Overhead Line Upgrade Project To Help Accelerate Connection Dates Of 175 Clean Energy Projects
- National Grid To Accelerate Up To 20GW Of Grid Connections Across Its Transmission And Distribution Networks
- National Grid’s London Power Tunnels Breakthrough Completes £1 Billion Project’s Tunnelling Activity
National Grid is increasing its capacity at a fast pace and will need a large number of quality engineers.
Crossrail And Electrical Engineers/Electricians
I suspect we’ll find, that when a report on the late delivery of Crossrail is published, an electrician shortage will get some of the blame.
I have friends, who are electricians. Because of the shortage of trained electricians, they were offered fortunes to work on Crossrail.
Do We Have Enough Engineers?
For all the reasons I have outlined, our path to net-zero will need a lot of trained electrical engineers and electricians and just as Crossrail showed, when there is a shortage of labour in a particular area, remuneration rises.
Electrical engineers and electricians in the British Isles will be able to pick and choose the jobs they take, just as they did with Crossrail and the other major projects being built at the same time.
Effects On Scotland
If you were an engineer, who had skills and could work on these projects, would you prefer to work on a project, where the tax rate was lower?
Scotland’s tax rise will harm their decarbonisation ambitions.
Surely, the Greens should have vetoed a tax increase, which will inevitably slow their progress to net-zero?
Or are Greens a tad short of the grey matter?
Conclusion
I believe the Scottish government has shot itself in the foot.
Maverick Clean Air Candidate Who Ran For Mayor Of London Is Back In Politics
The title of this post, is the same as that, of this article on Air Quality News.
This is the sub-heading.
One of the most enthusiastic political advocates of clean air is once again throwing his hat into the electoral ring by announcing that he will stand in both the forthcoming Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election and the Mid Bedfordshire by-election.
This is the introductory paragraph.
Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India* may not be the best known political figure, but he’s certainly a persistent one. Representing the One Love Party, he was the youngest candidate in the 2016 London Mayoral election, where his policies focussed on London’s housing crisis and air pollution.
I didn’t know you could stand in two by-elections at the same time! What if you won both?
Support For Offshore Wind In New Jersey Drops, Industry Points To Effect Of Misinformation
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on offshoreWIND.biz.
This is the sub-heading.
The number of New Jersey residents who support offshore wind fell by more than 20 per cent since 2019, from 76 per cent four years ago to just over half (54 per cent) now, and the number of those opposing offshore wind has climbed from 15 per cent to 40 per cent since 2019.
These are the first two paragraphs.
This is according to the results of a poll performed earlier this month by the Monmouth University Polling Institute, which found that 40 per cent of New Jerseyans think offshore wind farms could hurt the state’s summer tourism economy and 45 per cent see a connection between wind energy development and the recent beached whale phenomenon in New Jersey.
Furthermore, only 22 per cent expect the offshore wind industry to create a lot of jobs for the state, with most (55 per cent) saying that a few new jobs would be created and 15 per cent expecting that the industry would not create any new jobs.
It would appear that much of the drop in support has been down to Republicans.
The article is definitely a must-read.
London Overground Lines To Be Given Unique Names
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
Six London Overground lines are to be given unique names.
These three paragraphs explain it all.
Routes to be named include Euston to Watford Junction, Romford to Upminster and Gospel Oak to Barking, City Hall confirmed.
Seb Dance, deputy mayor for transport, said posters had been put up in stations informing people of the plans and encouraging them to get involved.
London Overground will remain as the umbrella brand, according to transport bosses.
It will cost £6.3 million.
What a waste of money!
I suppose they will all be given nice politically correct names, that no-one will use and those on thee far-right will cover with graffiti.
Yesterday, I needed to use The Drain, so I asked if it was open at Waterloo. Perhaps the first thing, that they ought to do, is teach staff all the colloquial names that my parents’ generation used.
The sooner the good voters of London give SadIQ his marching orders the better.
Orkney Council To Look At Proposals To Become Territory Of Norway
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
The Orkney Islands could change their status in the UK or even become a self-governing territory of Norway under new proposals.
These paragraphs outline their possible strategy.
A motion will go before the council next week to investigate “alternative forms of governance”.
Council leader James Stockan said Orkney does not get fair funding with its current relationship within the UK.
He wants to look at Crown Dependencies like the Channel Islands and overseas territories like the Falkland Islands.
He suggested another possible future could be like the Faroe Islands – which is a self-governing territory of Denmark.
Councillor Stockan told BBC Radio Scotland there were many areas where Orkney was being “failed dreadfully” by both the UK and Scottish governments.
These are my thoughts.
Has Orkney Been Failed Dreadfully By The UK And Scottish Governments?
I wouldn’t be surprised, if the legal and economic framework between the Orkney, Scotland and the UK, dates back hundreds of years and didn’t really expect to see a more independent Scotland.
This is a quote from Council leader James Stockan.
And the funding we get from the Scottish government is significantly less per head than Shetland and the Western Isles to run the same services – we can’t go on as we are.
I could argue, they should be similar.
Orkney’s Income From Oil, Gas And Wind
Orkney doesn’t have Shetland’s oil, gas and wind infrastructure, so perhaps Scotland and the UK, think Orkney is the other’s problem.
Wind Development In Orkney, Shetland And The Western Isles
This map from Cross Estate Scotland shows all the wind contracts for Orkney, Shetland and The Western Isles.
These wind farms could send wind power to Orkney.
- 7 – Ayre – 1008 MW
- 13 – West of Orkney – 2000 MW
That is a total of 3008 MW.
These wind farms could send wind power to Shetland.
- 18 – Ocean Winds – 500 MW
- 19 – Arven – 1800 MW
- 20 – ESB Asset Development – 500 MW
That is a total of 2800 MW.
These wind farms could send wind power to the Western Isles.
- 14 – Havbredey – 1400 MW
- 15 – N3 Project – 495 MW
- 16 – Spiorad na Mara – 840 MW
That is a total of 2735 MW.
On this quick look, it does appear that there is a fair balance of investment in wind power between Orkney, Shetland and The Western Isles.
The Flotta Hydrogen Hub
The Flotta Hydrogen Hub is being planned and it has its own web site.
It looks like it will be linked to the West of Orkney wind farm.
The Ferries
CouncilStockan says this about the ferries.
We are really struggling at the moment, we have to replace the whole ferry fleet which is older than the CalMac fleet.
And it is well-known, that the Scottish Nationalist Party got into a muddle with ferries.
Conclusion
If you read the Wikipedia entry for Orkney, the islands would appear to have a sound future, based on hydrogen, tourism and wind.
I would hope that a discussion around some good local food and the local whisky could sort out Otkney’s worries.
Effects Of The ULEZ In West London
This page on the Transport for London web site is entitled ULEZ Expansion 2023.
This is the first paragraph.
To help clear London’s air and improve health, the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) is expanding across all London boroughs from 29 August 2023.
These are some points from the rest of the page.
- Poor air quality is impacting the health of Londoners, and it’s mainly caused by polluting vehicles.
- Air pollution even contributes to the premature death of thousands of Londoners every year.
- 9 out of 10 cars seen driving in outer London already meet the ULEZ emissions standards.
- If you drive anywhere within the ULEZ and your vehicle does not meet the emissions standards, you could face a daily charge of £12.50.
- Residents of the ULEZ are not exempt from the charge.
- Any money received from the scheme is reinvested into running and improving London’s transport network, such as expanding bus routes in outer London.
There is no reference to trucks or HGVs.
These are my thoughts.
Objections To The ULEZ
If you type ULEZ into Google and look at the News page, you get a lot of stories that don’t show the ULEZ in a good light.
Here are a few headlines.
- BBC – ULEZ: Labour MPs Seek Support For Non-Londoners
- BBC – Firms In Essex Could Close Due To ULEZ, Warns Business Leader
- Big Issue – London’s Ulez Plans Could Hit Disabled People, Charities And Small Businesses The Hardest
- Daily Mail – Sadiq Khan Claims That Nazis Have Infiltrated Anti-Ulez Protests
- Guardian – EU Motorist Fined Almost £11,000 After Falling Foul Of London Ulez Rule
- Guardian – London’s Mayor Faces High Court Challenge Over Ulez Expansion
- Kent Live – Anti-ULEZ Campaign Group Support Soars As Kent Drivers ‘Unfairly Targeted’
- LBC – No More Ulez? Sadiq Khan Considers Scrapping Controversial Scheme And Replacing It With ‘Pay-As-You-Drive’ System
- Slough Observer – Ulez Faces High Court Challenge
- Which? – Why It Could Cost £17.50 To Drop A Loved One At Heathrow This Summer
It looks like Sadiq Khan has fallen into a hole.
And he hasn’t stopped digging!
To make it worse, he has suggested a Pay-As-You-Drive System. I seem to remember, that a Dutch Prime Minister, who tried it, lost the next election.
But then Sadiq Khan likes tolls as the new Silvertown Tunnel and the Blackwall Tunnel will be tolled in a few years.
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport is one of the world’s busiest airports and 76,000 people work at the airport, with many more employed nearby.
The airport handled 61.6 million passengers in 2022, which is a few short of 170,000 per day.
If you consider that those that work at the airport do two trips per day and passengers generally do one, that means there are 322,000 trips per day to or from the airport.
But as it now so easy to get to the Airport using the Elizabeth Line will more people use the new line to meet and greet and say goodbye to loved ones or business associates. Since the Elizabeth Line opened, I’ve met a couple of friends at Heathrow, who were passing through.
I wonder, if that daily journey total of 322,000 could be nearer to 350,000 or even 400,000.
If the ULEZ charge makes some passengers and staff switch from their car to using a bus or train, this probably means that public transport to and from the airport, will need to be boosted by a substantial amount.
But improving public transport to Heathrow wouldn’t be easy.
- The Elizabeth Line seems to have put a big hole in the finances of Heathrow Express.
- How many more trains can be squeezed into the Heathrow Tunnel?
- The Western Rail Link to Heathrow would probably need to be built. But that seems to be in limbo.
- New trains for the Piccadilly Line are a few years away.
It might have been better to build a different scheme for Western access to Heathrow like the Heathrow Southern Railway.
I suspect that there will be a lot more passengers on the Elizabeth Line to and from Heathrow.
A ULEZ For Heathrow
This article on fleetworld, from four years ago, is entitled Heathrow To Introduce Charging ULEZ In 2022.
It hasn’t happened, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be implemented in the future.
If it did happen, there would be more passengers for the Elizabeth Line.
The Elizabeth Line
I have written three posts about how busy the Western section of the Elizabeth Line can get.
- Very Busy Lizzie
- Elizabeth Line: Commuters Say Service ‘Not What Was Promised’
- So Many Cases On A Train!
Is there sufficient capacity to accommodate all the ULEZ-dodgers on the trains to and from Heathrow?
To make matters worse, there is a large Asian population from the Indian sub-continent living along the Elizabeth Line between Ealing Broadway and Reading.
- They seem to be enthusiastic users of the line.
- Having ridden several times on crowded Indian trains, perhaps using trains is very much part of South Asian culture.
- I also suspect that a lot of Indian families have spread themselves along the line, just like my mother’s close family spread themselves along the 107 bus route.
In Very Busy Lizzie, I said this.
Reading needs four tph to Central London.
The ULEZ will make this even more essential.
The Piccadilly Line
The Piccadilly Line may be getting new trains, but it is not a line that is blessed with lots of step-free stations.
The West London Orbital Railway
It does appear that the West London Orbital Railway may be more likely to be built, than a few months ago.
In Is There Progress On The West London Orbital Railway?, I wrote about a report, that consultants were being chosen.
This railway could ease pressure on the railways in West London.
Cutting Pollution In London From Trucks
London like all big cities has a lot of trucks.
As the average truck has a much larger engine than the average car, I would suspect it gives out more pollution.
One way to cut pollution from large vehicles would be to run them on hydrogen.
But unlike some cities in the UK, London has no hydrogen policy and filling stations to fill them up.
The Mayor could at least get a workable hydrogen policy.
Conclusion
I suspect the next Mayor of London will have to have a rethink on the ULEZ and implement a hydrogen policy.
East-West Rail: Bedford’s Mayoral Candidates Split On Rail Project
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the first sentence.
Part of the route of the controversial East-West Rail project will not be decided before we know the winner of Bedford’s mayoral elections.
Unfortunately, the four candidates for Mayor all seem to have different ideas for East-West Railway through the town.
I have a few thoughts and observations.
Thameslink
Thameslink has the following connections to the East West Railway.
- Four tph at Bedford.
- Three tph at Cambridge.
Note.
- tph is trains per hour.
- All Bedford trains terminate at Bedford.
- The half-hourly Luton Airport Express between London St. Pancras and Corby stops at Luton Airport Parkway, Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough and Kettering.
- Cambridge trains may extend to Cambridge North station.
- Cambridge has additional through services between London King’s Cross and Ely and/or King’s Lynn.
Both Bedford and Cambridge will be busy stations.
Extra Tracks At Bedford
Bedford station has four tracks; two which are generally used by Thameslink services and two main lines used by through trains.
- The fast lines must accommodate the following trains.
- East Midlands Railway – 6 tph in both directions. Two tph stop in Bedford station.
- Freight Trains – 2 tph in both directions.
- East West Railway – 2 tph in both directions. All trains will stop in Bedford station.
It strikes me, that the station may need at least one and possibly two extra tracks.
If there are extra tracks, there will need to be some demolition of houses.
Freight Trains
In Roaming Around East Anglia – Newmarket Station, I wrote this about the plans of the East West Rail Consortium in the area.
In this document on the East-West Rail Consortium web site, this is said.
Note that doubling of Warren Hill Tunnel at Newmarket and
redoubling between Coldham Lane Junction and Chippenham Junction is included
in the infrastructure requirements. It is assumed that most freight would operate
via Newmarket, with a new north chord at Coldham Lane Junction, rather than
pursuing further doubling of the route via Soham.
So would it be possible to create a double-track railway through Newmarket station?
In the related post, I came to this conclusion.
Newmarket can benefit from East West Rail, but the two parties must agree objectives that don’t cause problems for the other.
But I do think, that Newmarket will not welcome the building of a double-track railway through the town.
I do wonder, if the East West Rail Consortium plan to run freight trains between Felixstowe and South Wales and the West of England through Bedford and Oxford.
Four freight tph, through Bedford would certainly need extra tracks and the demolition of houses in the centre of Bedford.
Electrification
Two of the candidates for Bedford’s mayor, think that the line needs to be electrified.
As the route is full or partially-electrified at Didcot, Bletchley, Bedford and Cambridge, I believe that battery-electric trains could handle the route.
But then there are no plans to purchase any passenger trains of this type.
Freight trains would still need to be diesel hauled, unless more progress is made fairly quickly in the development of hydrogen-powered freight locomotives.
The Cambridge Effect
Cambridge is one of the most important cities in the world, because of its strength in innovation in high technology industries.
But Cambridge is bursting at the seams and needs more space for laboratories, advanced manufacturing and housing.
A fully-developed double-track and electrified East West Railway would open up Bletchley, Milton Keynes, Bedford, Newmarket, Bury St. Edmunds and Ipswich to act as satellites to help Cambridge build a shared and successful future.
The Felixstowe Effect
If Cambridge will stimulate the growth of passenger traffic, then Felixstowe will promote the growth of East-West freight traffic.
Conclusion
It may not be initially built that way, but probably by 2040, the East West Railway will be a fully-electrified double-track railway between Didcot and Felixstowe.
Extra tracks will also be needed through Bedford. This will mean demolition of houses.
Rahul Gandhi Disqualified As MP After Conviction In Defamation Case
The title of this post, is the same as that of this article on the BBC.
This is the sub-heading.
India’s parliament has disqualified senior opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, a day after he was sentenced to two years in prison in a defamation case.
The next two paragraphs outline the case.
A parliament notice said that Mr Gandhi “stands disqualified from the membership of Lok Sabha”, alluding to the lower house of parliament.
He was convicted by the court for 2019 comments about PM Narendra Modi’s surname at a election rally.
Recently, I made a comment to a doctor with part Indian genes about Modi and I got a very unflattering reply.
The Anonymous Widower 