[Andy McDandy]

Amusingly, and predictably, Fenton's pet twat hates Viner, saying she's a backsliding sell out and a Tory in disguise.

Then again, he says that about everyone.

[Tubby Isaacs]

My guess the The Guardian is sensing a generational shift in its potential audience. When Corbyn leading Labour, they didn't like him much, with Viner already the editor.

It's virtually constant unhelpful framing. Priti Patel has said the US strike is "essential" which is a mile further on than what Starmer or Jonathan Reynolds said, but the Guardian have made it sound like they said the same thing. "The main parties, maaaan, they're all the same". And if they're not- see Ed Miliband's budget going up- you get all the speculation that they were going to be the same.

Having said this, I'd probably forgive Viner if she sacked Simon Jenkins.

[Boiler]

Amusingly, and predictably, Fenton's pet twat hates Viner, saying she's a backsliding sell out and a Tory in disguise.

Then again, he says that about everyone.

I wonder how said individual feels about Ash Sarkar of Novara Media now being a regular participant on The Moral Maze these days?

[Tubby Isaacs]

I remember this story from a while ago.

Treasury threatens Defra with £4bn bill if Thames Water nationalised

Exclusive: Treasury threat an example of ‘scare tactics’ to help force through private sector deal, sources suggest

https://www.theguardian.com/business/20 ... tionalised

All I can see is that somebody produced an estimate. Where are the "threats"? Where does anyone say DEFRA would have to pay the cost out of its existing budget?

And, yeah, the example of Bulb (the government made a profit on that) is encouraging and there could be no cost. But that wasn't how the nationalization of Bulb was seen at the time it was happening. The OBR thought the loss to the Government would be £2bn. But hey, a "source" said, did they? Nationalisation has sounded more likely since then. The Treasury isn't very good at threatening, by the look of it.

[The Weeping Angel]

My guess the The Guardian is sensing a generational shift in its potential audience. When Corbyn leading Labour, they didn't like him much, with Viner already the editor.

It's virtually constant unhelpful framing. Priti Patel has said the US strike is "essential" which is a mile further on than what Starmer or Jonathan Reynolds said, but the Guardian have made it sound like they said the same thing. "The main parties, maaaan, they're all the same". And if they're not- see Ed Miliband's budget going up- you get all the speculation that they were going to be the same.

Having said this, I'd probably forgive Viner if she sacked Simon Jenkins.

Didn't they endorse Labour in 2017 and 19? Is this new potential audience the people who comment BTL? As for Simon Jenkins here's what he had to say about HS2.

[Tubby Isaacs]

They endorsed Labour in 2024 too, in fairness. But I get a sense (no more than that) of a sense that there's a new, younger audience out there for them.

Jenkins was editing the Evening Standard when Jim Callaghan was PM. I think we've heard enough from him by now.

[The Weeping Angel]

He must be costing them a lot in wages? Wouldn't it be easier to retire him and hire a younger, cheaper columnist?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Well, indeed.

Do they even need a replacement? I'd be happier with more expert columns. Lots of experts can write perfectly readable stuff. The old editor of Rail, Nigel Harris, wrote a good column on HS2 (he was in favour, but thought the cost was being unnecessarily ramped up by the insistence that the constructors took all the risk for future condition). Unfortunately, he didn't write it in the Guardian, but The Spectator, who to their credit took the initiative of emailing him and asked him if he wanted to write something.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Can't be bothered with this. The Title and URL are enough for me.

Overblown infrastructure projects damage lives and imperil democracy. Why is Britain addicted to them?
George Monbiot

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... e-projects

The UK, where famously you can't move for state of the art infrastructure.

The Lower Thames Crossing is... a bridge over a river, that links usefully into roads on one of the major freight routes.. It's not my idea of a megaproject. And it includes quite a lot of local upgrades within its budget.

Is East-West rail overblown? I'd guess it's regarded as the opposite, if anything unambitious since it's being delivered unnelectrified. But it's got lots of the same problems as "overblown" projects. Loads of people along the route put their energy into delaying it and this inflates the expense.

Lots of "no brainer" local schemes you see put forward, particularly anything "reversing Beeching" are wing and a prayer. If we retreat into stuff like that, we're fucked.

[Andy McDandy]

How do they 'imperil democracy'? Are all the polling station staff moonlighting on the sites?

[Boiler]

Can't be bothered with this. The Title and URL are enough for me.

Overblown infrastructure projects damage lives and imperil democracy. Why is Britain addicted to them?
George Monbiot

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... e-projects

The UK, where famously you can't move for state of the art infrastructure.

The Lower Thames Crossing is... a bridge over a river, that links usefully into roads on one of the major freight routes.. It's not my idea of a megaproject. And it includes quite a lot of local upgrades within its budget.

It also gets road freight away from the Dartford Crossing.

Is East-West rail overblown? I'd guess it's regarded as the opposite, if anything unambitious since it's being delivered unnelectrified. But it's got lots of the same problems as "overblown" projects. Loads of people along the route put their energy into delaying it and this inflates the expense.

See the efforts made by the residents of Tempsford, a village notable as far as I can tell for St. Peter's Church... and a swingers' club on the A1. However, I do wonder if greater benefits will come from the dualling of the A428 from Caxton Gibbet to Black Cat roundabout (also near Tempsford) which will take traffic on a dual carriageway east-west from the M11 to the M1 whilst passing directly over the A1. I await with interest to learn what benefit the proposed EWR link with the ECML at Tempsford will bring: I understand there'll be a new station at Tempsford too, replacing the one that shut in... 1959.

Lots of "no brainer" local schemes you see put forward, particularly anything "reversing Beeching" are wing and a prayer. If we retreat into stuff like that, we're fucked.

A lot of routes were closed both before and after Beeching; the entire Midland and Great Northern (1959) and March - Spalding (1982) to name but two: the latter would probably have obviated the need for the Werrington dive-under forty years later but may well have cost more to upgrade at the time.

[Tubby Isaacs]

How do they 'imperil democracy'? Are all the polling station staff moonlighting on the sites?

No idea. Probably something about "lobbying" or "overriding local democracy". People who build big wind and solar farms do both of those. To George's credit, I think he's in favour of these, but if you jump on the nimby train, it's hard to get off before it crashes through stuff you want. One man's taking climate change seriously is another man's monstrous overblown project.

There's a nature bill put forward by Ros Savage MP (Lib Dem, South Cotswolds). As I understand it, the bill would make it harder to build very large solar. All the usual cross party "campaigners" are up in arms. How can Starmer not be supporting nature etc?

You may not be unsurprised to hear that one of the reasons Ros Savage replaced a Tory was that the Sunak Government had plans to build a very large solar farm in the constituency. I'm glad Savage won, and I'm sure every local candidate said the same about the solar farm. But let's enshrine a bad general principle in a bill to solve her local problems. Adrian Ramsay gets a fair bit of stick for his opposition to pylons in his constituency, but as far as I know he's not trying to stop them everywhere.

[Tubby Isaacs]

It also gets road freight away from the Dartford Crossing.

Yep, road freight that serves the rest of the UK. According to lots of people, new roads are bad because they "fill up". I think that argument is much weaker now there's a credible route to decarbonizing road transport. It's good that economic activity can be increased and become more efficient. You might as well complain about Crossrail filling up.

[Watchman]

Overblown infrastructure projects damage lives and imperil democracy. Why is Britain addicted to them?
George Monbiot

Brunel and Bazalgette may have view on that

[Tubby Isaacs]

Why didn't Brunel just upgrade the existing turnpike roads?

The Thames Tideway Tunnel was regarded by lots as something of a megaproject- don't know George's position. But when it was finally done, it did exactly what people say they want more of- it hugely reduced sewage outflows.