Whoever pays the consultant gets pretty much what they want to hear. Matthew Stewart
Battling against the destruction of open spaces by housing on Idle Moor, I have waded through lots of consultants’ reports. The undeniable whiff is as the quote above. How can this be right?
A reoccurring story had yet another airing this week: Further calls have been made for high-speed rail in the North, with a station in Bradford.
Those old enough to remember stories of Odsal as the Wembley of the North will doubtless see the link.
What they want to do is build a brand new central train station – ten minutes walk out of town – to get Bradford on a mainline Leeds to Manchester link. They call this HS3 despite the fact that HS2 looks less and less likely so far as the north goes.
I’m no expert but one comment has consistently been made: how can it be high-speed with a stop barely after starting? It is like asking Lewis Hamilton to change tyres after lap 2.
There is no doubt that Bradford’s transport links could be better but this is uncosted, self-serving madness from spoon-fed public servants.
Blair & Brown: The New Labour Revolution
Despite my loathing of Sleazy Blair, this five-part BBC series was by far the best viewing this week. Charting the rise and fall of New Labour – and probable death of new and old – it was superb.
Both main protagonists were the focus of each episode with a changing ensemble. What struck me was how easy it appeared to rise from ordinary jobs (tv producer, speechwriter, teamaker) to the centre of government.
Above all though, across all parties, leaders always fall at the knives of their inner-circles; we don’t really count.
Plain Speaking
Writing in The Yorkshire Post last weekend, David Behrens attempted to make sense of the reluctance of several England footballers to take the jab. One was reportedly convinced a vaccine is a spying tool used by government!
I would ask him which party is in government; it is a 50/50 bet he would not know. Behrens wrote:
How dim do you have to be to take claptrap like that at face value? It’s even less likely than the other popular belief amongst the terminally gullible that the medication contains a chip put there by Microsoft founder Bill Gates – a theory rather undermined by the fact that Microsoft can’t even make a reliable version of Windows.
As the pride of the nation took on the mighty Andorra – population 77,000 – taking up Saturday night prime time viewing against opposition unlikely to trouble Bradford City, I wondered at the state of a nation that rewards dimwits so lavishly.
Pump Up The Volume
Bradford Council’s PR team must have been knocking hard on the press doors recently with several stories doing the rounds, notably talking up the ridiculous bid to become UK Capital of Culture 2025.
Of course, they would for a continuation of this expensive smokescreen ensures extended contracts for the hangers-on supposed to be convincing the rest of the UK that Bradford and culture belong in the same sentence.
Even if Bradford wins – the final decision is next May – how many warts will a gong cover-up? It is nothing but a diversionary exercise designed to plaster over the numerous challenges our city has. As ever, politicians rarely wish to confront these.
Dead Expensive
Plans to replace Nabwood Crematorium – deemed inefficient – with a shiny new facility in Heaton were announced last year at a cost of £6.9m. Now, these costs have escalated to £8.8m – round it up to £10m and you will be closer to the eventual outcome.
Any normal business might have considered how much for a new oven rather than a completely new facility; it makes no sense. We are told the council is re-evaluating its strategy. You might ask what strategy?
Superbi
DC Comics has announced that its latest Superman, Jon Kent, will be bisexual. Who on Earth thinks that what Superman gets up to between the sheets matters in the slightest?
I pity today’s kids bombarded by crap like this to appease a vocal, invisible minority. It can only be a matter of time before Wonder Woman becomes a lesbian vegan.
Government Speak
Announcing £250m this week so we can all queue for hours in a crowded waiting room full of sick people to see our African GP, the government said it was possible because of a number of time-saving cancellations of bureaucracy.
In the same sentence it was announced they would be introducing a league table to compare surgeries; is it me?
Just One Wish
Goods are stuck in ports around the world we are told. Would it not be great if the one full of Chinese fireworks was stuck far, far away?
Leave a Reply