The FT has this headline this morning:
Then you read the subheading, and it says:
So the truth is, Labour has said something absurd, and even the FT has headlined it, when the truth is that Labour is just doing some very expensive planning.
Don't get me wrong: planning is good.
Don't also get me wrong: railways in Northern England need a massive upgrade. That should have happened long before HS2 did.
All I am saying is that it would be good if the media did not report the nonsense politicians claim and instead revealed the truth behind the hype. The world would be a lot better if they did, because it is already obvious what is going on here. This is a 2029 pre-election stunt, beginning to roll out when Labour must know they have no hope of delivering whatever it might be they are looking at. If only the FT had the courage to say that we would all be a lot better off.
Breaking the power of the press release over the media is vital if we are to get the news we need.
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I don’t buy the FT, partner does sometimes, it never fails to disappoint – the centre pages are for the most part trash.
Thus the (deliberately) misleading headline is no surprise (UK Gov PR to FT: “look we place ads with you from time to time – so give some positive spin on the Reeves press release will you? – thanks” -…. style of).
Starmer faces his own set of problems: Scottish (& Welsh) wipe out, & ….”to be (a US poodle) or not to be” – decisions need to be made – what a relief that he has such a capable chief of staff in Mr McSwine.
🙂
If Rachel can find £1.3bn for an evaluation process out of thin air, for what may end up as sensible infrastructure project.
Why can’t she do the same for our neuro divergent young people?
Bevause she sees no votes in it.
She is wrong.
I doubt that anyone in the North of England will believe a word of it, they’ve heard it all before. £1.1 billion for the consultants…
Christ, Reeves must have a big sofa to find that lot down the back of it!
But as you say………..what worries me is that it will take so long to actually do the work, that whole thing will have to be re-appraised at considerable cost anyway.