Lord Adonis dances to the melodic tones of classic(al) Mandelson
Today is the Queen’s Speech. Quite possibly the most newsworthy item of the day but I sincerely doubt it.
Many tomes will be written today and in the future about the cynical content of the speech and how it is in effect a pre-manifesto manifesto so I don’t for one minute propose to add to that weight of words.
Instead, I propose to discuss something I feel is far more newsworthy today as I believe it ‘slipped’ under the radar yesterday in the furore of an investment announcement.
Yesterday, Lord Adonis announced that the 10 worst railway stations in England would each get to share £50m. That much we already know.
Fair enough, in the past I have been ‘quietly impressed’ with Lord Adonis and his apparent concern for doing the right thing by the railways but somehow, this just doesn’t sit comfortably with Parlez~me~’n~Tory.
How does Lord Adonis suddenly (1 day prior to a huge swathe of announcements within the Queen’s Speech) decide which stations are to be in his remit for this investment proposal?
What criteria was used for determining the worst stations in the country? Was this a consultative process? If so, with whom and when?
Personally, I believe that the only consultation (external to rail management) was between members of the Cabinet and only very senior members at that.
It is the belief of Parlez~me~’n~Tory that the criteria used was based purely on the best possible chance of a positive return at the General Election. Shall I put that statement into perspective?
Let’s take a look at the stations that are set to benefit and who controls the community. The 2nd line of each entry indicates: MP (Constituency/Benefitting area, Party) Majority (Year entered Parliament):
Station: Barking
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Margaret Hodge (Barking, Lab) 8,883 (1994)
Station: Clapham Junction
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Martin Linton (Battersea, Lab) 163 (1997)
Station: Crewe
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Edward Timpson (Crewe & Nantwich, Con) 7,860 (2008)
Station: Liverpool Central
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Maria Eagle (Liverpool, Garston, Lab) 7,193 (1997)
Louise Ellman (Liverpool, Riverside, Lab) 10,214 (1997)
Peter Kilfoyle (Liverpool, Walton, Lab) 15,957 (1991)
Jane Kennedy (Liverpool, Wavertree, Lab) 5,173 (1992)
Robert Wareing (Liverpool, West Derby, Ind) 15,225 (1983)
Station: Luton
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Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North, Lab) 6,487 (1997)
Margaret Moran (Luton South, Lab) 5,650 (1997)
Station: Manchester Victoria
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Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central, Lab) 9,776 (1983)
Graham Stringer (Manchester, Blackley, Lab) 12,027
Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton, Lab) 5,808 (1970)
John Leech (Manchester, Withington, Ldem) 667 votes (2005)
Station: Preston
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Mark Hendrick (Preston, Lab) 9,407 (2000)
Station: Stockport
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Ann Coffey (Stockport, Lab) 9,163 (1992)
Station: Warrington Bank Quay
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Helen Jones (Warrington North, Lab) 12,204 (1997)
Helen Southworth (Warrington South, Lab) 3,515 (1997)
Station: Wigan North Weston
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Neil Turner (Wigan, Lab) 11,767 (1999)
Do you notice a pattern developing?
It is rather obvious that apart from a token Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Independent the rest are Labour; not exactly with the strongest majorities either.
So, we have many Government ministers that were already set to enter the General Election campaign on very shaky ground who can now point to a huge cash investment in their region as evidence of what the Labour Government can and will do for their community. [It would be very interesting to do some analysis on what the breakdown of each local council is for these regions]…anyone wish to do that work?
Expect countless cries of ‘you wouldn’t get this under a Tory Government’ most notably in the voice of John Prescott to ram home hard the ‘working class’ Labour perception.
With the strategic position of the vast majority of these seats, [don't think for one minute they weren't chosen without that in mind] this investment turns out to be not quite what you thought it was yesterday and with the Queen’s speech today this will be all but lost in the noise. This cannot be allowed to happen.
MP’s from all sides, lobbyists and the blogosphere must leap on this and challenge Lord Adonis for the truth behind his rationale.
Tags: Business, Conservatives, Doing the RIGHT thing, Labour, LibDem, Parlez~me~'n~Tory, Press, Scandal
Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 08:29
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Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 08:41
This would have more credence if you could suggest alternative contenders for the stations, and if it weren’t generally the case that richer areas (which often vote Tory) had, erm, nicer/smaller train stations. I’m not saying you’re wrong – but this is precious little to go on.
Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 08:43
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Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 08:48
Ohhh you are such a cynic…it could just be a coincidence you know.
Perhaps they put the names in a hat & pulled out randomly. We know Labour would never do anything that wasn’t fair now would they?
Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 08:56
Claire Spencer, good morning and thank you for the comment. Unfortunately I do not travel by the rail network regularly enough to identify a number of stations but we could perhaps take Salisbury which is long overdue massive investment or perhaps Corsham taking £15m of the investment to rebuild the station given that MOD is now investing very heavily in the area but without public transport routes available.
Without the specific criteria being given by Lord Adonis one cannot possibly be in a position to propose alternatives and I think you will find I ask for that criteria in the final paragraph.
Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 09:51
And a good morning to you!
I know Corsham well – and plans to reopen the station there have been passed around for a while, although I think they have only really gained pace this year. But the MOD investment is nothing new, they have been slowly increasing their presence for a long time. And there is public transport – you can get to Corsham by bus – I think they leave every half-hour from Bath? Not sure about other nearby towns, but I think it’s roughly the same. Ultimately, I couldn’t tell you whether Corsham was more deserving, but I will say that it’s harder to reopen a station than to improve one.
But yes, we shall wait for Lord Adonis to explain his criteria.
Posted on November 18th, 2009 at 12:11
The investment though has been ramped up hugely with their new building/area taking place. I was fortunate enough to attend a planning meeting recently (2.5k new workers with less than 900 parking spaces after ambulants/visitors etc taking into account).
Couple this with the situation they have of over 75% of their workforce being from the non-Bath area then you start to see their problem (that percentage was a figure used by the MOD at the time).
Their workforce in fact spans from North and East of Oxford, Cardiff area and south of Yeovil so they really do need to sort out their problem and hence the estimated £15m it would take to re-open that station would be returned in investment in the community and other projects delivered by the usual IT companies that go along with MOD contracts.
Lord Adonis was lobbied several times regarding this prior to his current role and I am led to believe that he is sick and tired of hearing the word ‘Corsham’. Ah well.