George Osborne Sets Out His Vision Of Yorkshire
This article in the Huddersfield Examiner is entitled Chancellor George Osborne to set out long term economic plan for Yorkshire during visit to West Yorkshire.
Read it and there are some interesting snippets, that he believes will be part of a long term plan for Yorkshire.
One of them is this.
We will also increase speeds on the East Coast Mainline to 140 mph
It is already planned and if and when it happens it will significantly reduce journey times all the way up the line between London and Edinburgh.
George is not actually promising anything for which funds have not been allocated, but his words show he understands the value of infrastructure, something that can’t be said for all Chancellors of the Exchequer since the Second World War.
The one thing that George or any future Chancellor can ensure, is that by not cutting funds they will get this valuable project carried out!
The Bill Somebody Affair May Be Getting Serious
Ed Balls got his Bills all mixed up, as outlined in this article in The Independent entitled Bill Somebody: So who is Ed Balls’ mysterious Labour business supporter?
After watching George Galloway do a Daniel act in a den of Jewish lions on Question Time, I decided to see if billsomebody.com and billsomebody.co.uk have been registered.
One certrainly has and you can read it here.
It was registered yesterday!
The Eden Project, Geothermal Energy And Fracking
In Iceland last summer, I saw the benefits of geothermal energy, with one of the most spectacular being the amazing Blue Lagoon.
We don’t have any volcanoes in the UK, but in places like Cornwall and London Bridge station, projects are starting to test the feasibility of using heat from deep in the ground.
According to this article in the Glasgow Herald, the Eden Project is investigating geothewrmal energy. This is an extract.
Given the prominence of Friends of the Earth in the shale gas debate it often comes as a nasty surprise to local anti-fracking groups that most green groups do actually support drilling and fracking for deep geothermal projects. Only yesterday, the famous Eden Project in Cornwall announced such a project.
Today though, I read in The Times, that this £35million project is now under threat from an anti-fracking amendment in a bill in Parliament.
I suspect that the problem is if you wrote down all the science known by Members of Parliament, it would just about fit on a small postage stamp.
I wonder what will happen when politicians find out about the ground source heat pump at London Bridge could use fracking techniques, to enable it to be built properly and run efficiently.
It All Happens In London In May
May is looking to be a big month for the infrastructure of London.
I’ve just read this article in the Hackney Gazette, which is entitled Canary Wharf Crossrail Artwork Released.
But as the article says, we won’t see the artwork until 2018, when Canary Wharf Crossrail station opens.
But what the article does say, is that the shops, restaurants, bars and the roof garden will open to the public in May.
So what else is happening in May?
1. Crossrail will take over the Shenfield Metro services in May. I have spoken to staff about this and everybody I spoke to seemed positive about the move and there has been the odd article like this one in the Btrentwood Gazette that has shown a positive tone.
2. Cossrail has put out this report, which says that tunnelling will be complete in the Spring amongst other things.
3. The Lea Valley Lines become part of the London Overground on the 31st of the Month. I don’t think you’ll find many, who believe it was wrong that London took over the North and East London Lines to create the Overground in 2007. So probably the sentiment for this takeover is positive.
4. Today on Hackney Central station, I asked a London Overground employee, when the pedestrian link to Hackney Downs station will open. It should be in May. He also told me about all the other developments at Hackney Central that are being planned, like extra lifts. The Overground does seem to have instilled infectious enthusiasm into its staff.
There is also the little matter of the first General Election of 2015.
Mansion Tax To Pay For 1,000 Nurses In Scotland
This is the front page headline in The Times. It is subtitled.
Labour targets southern England to woo north.
These headlines are based on a policy statement by Jim Murphy, the Scottish Labour Leader. The Times also says he didn’t clear it with Ed Miliband.
My house would probably not be worth enough to pay a mansion tax, although knowing politicians, they’d probably change the rules to make most houses in London and the South East pay the tax.
But I thought that the NHS in Scotland was devolved.
One thing I find, is that if I talk about the NHS to people in England and Scotland, those in places like London, Liverpool and East Anglia, are much more satisfied with prerformance than those north of the border.
Is Nigel Farage Like Joan Rivers?
Having seen and read a lot about Nigel Farage, I sometimes think that what he says is not unlike things said by Joan Rivers.
But there’s a big difference! Joan Rivers based a lot of what she said on things that most of us think, but she was not expecting to be taken seriously, except as a comedian. Nigel Farage on the other hand, although he bases his statements in a similar way to Joan Rivers, very much expects to be taken seriously.
I didn’t watch Farage’s performance on Question Time and his confrontation with Russell Brand, but the reports I’ve read, reinforce my conviction, that Farage’s policies are not for me.
I hope that in a few years time, we’ll all be able to look back on Nigel Farage and his politics as a hiccup in history.
If he makes us think the unthinkable in sorting out our serious problems, like obesity, poverty, pollution, smoking, health, illegal drugs climate change, child protection etc., the hiccup will have been a good thing.
A lot of the old ideas have failed, so we’ve got to consign them to history and move forward.
Farage On Breastfeeding
Nigel Farage has been giving his views on breastfeeding, on his phone-in show on LBC. The BBC reports it in full and says this.
“This is just a matter of common sense isn’t it,” he added. “I know particularly people of the older generation feel awkward and embarrassed by it”
As a member of the older generation, I don’t feel awkward and embarrassed by breastfeeding.
But Mr. Farage and his outdated views certainly embarrass me!
Andrew Mitchell
I refer you to one I posted earlier. Here’s a paragraph.
So my late wife’s advice to anybody who is thinking about suing for libel was don’t. You’ll make it worse and you’ll only end up with a large bill from lawyers. Even if you win! I agree entirely.
C would have a smile on her face and be saying silly man.
A Surprise For Bournemouth
I have always believed a story once told me by a hairdresser who used to work there, that Bournemouth does more blue rinses than any town in England.
So I was surprised to see this shop as I walked from Pokesdown station to Dean Court, down the rather less than salubrious shopping street, with its collection of shops which are not the best.
A Ukip Shop In Bournemouth
Who’d have thought that Bournemouth would be a hot-bed for kippers.
Devo Manc Explained
I found this article on the OpenDemocracy web site, which explains proposed political changes in Greater Manchester and the creation of a mayor over the whole area. This is the lead paragraph.
The announced Mayor for Greater Manchester doesn’t overturn the will of the people of Manchester. It is a new solution, designed in Greater Manchester, for Greater Manchester.
It does also seem that other commentators are using the term; Devo Manc.
I’ll believe it happens, when he or she is finally sworn in.
The Anonymous Widower 