In 1980 the were serious proposals, and not for the first time, to close both Marylebone and St Pancras stations in London. Jago Hazzard takes us through the plans and why they came to nothing. Before I go any further, let my suggest you like this video, follow him on YouTube and have a look at his Patreon page. One thing he does not explain is how trains from the Midland Main Line would have reached Euston. There was no existing connection they could have used nor any obvious new one that could have been built. I don't know what ...
There have been a growing number of stories in recent years about extreme disciplinary regimes in schools run by multi-academy trusts. One of these has come to a head today, with the announcement by the Athena Learning Trust that it will dissolve itself transfer its schools to other organisations. The trust runs nine schools across Devon and Cornwall. Ben Maguire, the Liberal Democrat MP for North Cornwall, reports BBC News, welcomed the announcement saying it was "an important step for pupils and parents". The report also says: MP Ben Maguire said he had met a number of concerned parents, students, ...
Rhodri Morgan statue – photo credit: David Deans, BBC. Our man on the ground, Cllr William (Bill) Powell, attended the unveiling of the Rhodri Morgan statue at the Pierhead in Cardiff. Rhodri Morgan was the First Minister of Wales from 2000-2009 and steered the country through the initial growing pains of devolution. Championing a 'clear red water' policy for Welsh Labour that focused on social democracy and universal services. He made a conscious decision to distance Welsh Labour from many of the policies of the Westminster Labour Government. Seen as 'Old Labour', he was a Welsh speaker and a long-standing ...
Recently, I caught self-styled 'Inequality Economist' Gary Stevenson's Documentary, How to Get Filthy Rich on Channel 4; to say it frustrated me would be an understatement. The fundamental thesis of the documentary is that rising inequality is going to leave the grand majority of the population worse off, (which is true) and that the solution to this is a wealth tax. I've explained my concerns with a wealth tax before, but I think I'm going to go into more detail on my problems with it here, not only because it is becoming a thorn in the side of serious Left-wing ...
With the Conservatives languishing at 19 per cent in the latest YouGov poll, Kemi Badenoch has decided she knows what her party's problem is. It's appeal is too broad. So, according to both Conservative Home and the Spectator, a new purge of its membership and elected representatives is underway. Oliver Dean writes on Conservative Home:In a move which properly began last Friday, Badenoch announced that only those who back the Conservatives' commitment to scrapping net zero and leaving the ECHR will be approved as parliamentary candidates. Anyone who won't fall in line will be blocked, or have the whip removed ...
It is an obvious answer I'm afraid - the service that the train companies provide is awful. In the last 6 days only one of the six long distance trains that I have been on were on time. Three of them were on more than an hour late and two were 25 minutes late. On 7th July I travelled to Bournemouth via London. The London train was slate but not late enough to prevent me going through to Waterloo to catch The Bournemouth train which had been cancelled. After 30 minutes wait, I got a train to Basingstoke where after ...
The BBC reports that doubts remain over whether the Plaid Cymru Welsh government will be able to get its supplementary budget through the Senedd this week after Labour rejected the offer of a deal on Thursday night. The news site says that at a meeting of the British Irish Council on Guernsey on Friday, Plaid Cymru's First Minister Rhun ap Iorwerth said it was "Labour's call" and the proposal was "the offer" because ministers were working under tight financial constraints. But is that good enough from a party that has taken on the responsibiity of government? The difference between the ...
