Extinction Rebellion - leaving aside the emotion

[Gollom]

Just heard on Jeremy Vine someone from Extinction Rebellion say maybe we should cancel HS2 and use the money to improve public transport infrastructure instead, which in turn will go someway toward improving the environment. Can't help thinking that is a pretty sensible idea.

IMHO of course!!

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Sounds a reasonable suggestion to me. Although as large an amount as the HS2 saving would be, I’m not confident it would go too far towards the improvements needed to the rest of the public transport infrastructure. But as they say, every little helps.

 

[markjay]

Without going into politics...

I used to work in West Africa, where they do not have the structure required for distributing targeted welfare to individuals, in terms of the bureaucratic mechanism that needs to be in place for validating, auditing, monitoring, and assisting needy individuals.

Instead, they invest heavily in infrastructure. Roads, bridges, hospitals, railways, public buildings, etc. Then they subsidise basic foods (wheat/sugar/oil etc).

The idea is that the public money (provided as foreign aid and via the IMF) is put to use to everyone's benefit.

Of course in most African countries there's extreme polarisation between the few who are very very rich, and the many who are usually quite poor. So spending the money in this way helps mostly the poor, while in the West this would have meant that a large middle class will also benefit.

But still, I tend warm up to these type of ideas. I don't know if HS2 is a good thing or a bad thing, but if it's a good thing, then my view is 'go for it'. Forget the cost.

Future generations will not even remember how much it cost, they will just enjoy the benefits (is anyone complaining now about how much it cost to dig the tunnels for the London Underground back in the 19th century...?).

 

[markjay]

To clarify... I am not supporting HS2 per-se... I don't know enough about it. My point is that if it is indeed a good project then it should not be cancelled purely on the grounds of costs.

 

[Darrell]

I’m working on HS2.

 

[AJA]

Once we stop giving our money over to Brussels we'll have more for ourselves. Then we can have our cake and eat it.

Re-open the mines
Re-establish our steel industry
Give farmers more in return for their goods

Just keep the unions out of it.

 

[Scott_F]

Once we stop giving our money over to Brussels we'll have more for ourselves. Then we can have our cake and eat it.

So said Nigel Farge and then quickly backtracked.

Re-open the mines

We have to move away from burning fossil fuels.

Re-establish our steel industry

The bits we no longer have aren't there because they can't compete with the lower cost economies of the Far East.

Give farmers more in return for their goods

How much more are you willing to pay for them ?

Just keep the unions out of it.

And undermine workers' rights.

Anything else you want to blame on our EU membership ?

 

[Bellow]

And undermine workers' rights.

Only the retired and jobless would vote for that.......

 

[DSM10000]

Only the retired and jobless would vote for that.......

Retarded and clueless more like!

 

[Bellow]

Retarded and clueless more like!

Brexiteers don't like being called that. Really, they don't.

 

[m80]

Brexiteers don't like being called that. Really, they don't.

Well it must accurately describe me,
I thought this one was about HS2.

 

[markjay]

B-Word not allowed here! Oy...

 

[DSM10000]

Brexiteers don't like being called that. Really, they don't.

How pathetic.

I replied in support of your post and instead of accepting that in good grace you just have to try to be clever (failing as usual) in thinking that your retort was amusing.

Why can the remoaners not accept a basic fact that they LOST and that their precious, infallible, not to be questioned masters in the EU are not accepted and wanted by a majority of those in the UK and, if they were allowed to express an opinion, are also not wanted by many millions more throughout Europe.

You are capable as demonstrated of many intelligent, well thought out and well presented arguments on this and many other topics so do try harder although I think I will put you back on the ignore list as the Valuable to Drivel ratio of your posts is falling again.................Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

 

[Deleted member 6183]

B-Word not allowed here! Oy...

Oy vey.

 

[Dryce]

But still, I tend warm up to these type of ideas. I don't know if HS2 is a good thing or a bad thing, but if it's a good thing, then my view is 'go for it'. Forget the cost.

My view is that HS2 isn't in itself a bad thing - but the cost raises the question of whether that money would be better spent on other projects.

So as an example. HS2 is about passengers. UK rail system is passenger orientated. Money is being spent on smart motorways - trucks clog motorways. So spend money on a freight network - hybrid rail and road.

Or spend the money improving suburban networks around citie that would benefit.

HS2 is a prestige infrastructure project - maybe the same money would get more and wider benefits on less exciting projects?

 

[CaptainChaos]

 

[AMGeed]

We have to move away from burning fossil fuels.

Tell that to the Chinese and the Americans.
We don't even feature in the top 10 countries that burn fossil fuels.

 

[Scott_F]

Tell that to the Chinese and the Americans.
We don't even feature in the top 10 countries that burn fossil fuels.

We're discussing the UK's situation not what goes on elsewhere.

 

[Deleted member 65149]

Tell that to the Chinese and the Americans.
We don't even feature in the top 10 countries that burn fossil fuels.

That doesn’t mean we may as well ignore it. If it does, let’s not bother about gun crime here because there’s far more in the USA. An extreme analogy I know, but I think it makes the point.

 

[John N]

There was a Programme on ITV (I think) last night that seemed to show that outright Porkys have been used in order to basically waste the £7 Billion used so far on the Project!