ConservativeIdiots

Just when you thought you had seen it all, along comes a new improved idiot who proves you knew nothing. Step forward and take a bow the UK Conservative Party’s Shadow Minister of Transport, a woman called Theresa Villiers, Member of Parliament for Chipping Barnet.

It is difficult to remember that this is the UK’s government in waiting, they almost can’t lose the next election, and everyone, including the present government knows this. However today they gave a clear indication that if ever there was a group capable of turning certain victory into debate they might be it. They are unquestionably trying their utmost to lose the next election if it is humanly possible.

Theresa Villiers made her speech at the Conservative Party Conference in which she announced that a Conservative Government would say no to a third runway at Heathrow, and concentrate instead on the advantages of her unfolding high speed rail plan.

The entire world knows that there is a desperate need for the third Heathrow airport runway so we are left to wonder how this Shadow Minister intends to overcome the problem of too many people wanting to use the congested Heathrow airport bottleneck. It’s simple really, she intends to ignore this reality and instead is pointing the way forward via rail.

Is this an existing rail service, of course not, it is, at her optimistic best estimate, going to be available in about 15 years, and the last such undertaking took a quarter of a century.

In the intervening couple of decades or so we shouldn’t worry that we are throwing away our pre-eminent position as the travel hub between mainland Europe and America, because at least the Greens will be happy!

Yes, Theresa says her Party has plans to introduce a new phase of high-speed rail to the UK, in what she described as a “momentous step forward for Britain’s transport infrastructure”.

She went on to describe how a Conservative Government will build a new high speed rail line between Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and London, cutting journey times between Birmingham and London to 40 minutes and between Leeds and London to less than an hour and a half.

We have all heard this before and it ignores the fact that people want to do their journeys largely by plane, particularly when it is an inter connecting onwards journey.

Theresa, the Shadow Transport Secretary, said that high speed rail would have many benefits for the UK which she claims will help businesses and generating huge economic benefits, potentially to the value of £60 billion. Let me ask how, when, where to who?

Apparently, she goes on to claim that this will also heal long-standing divisions in the UK economy by shrinking the distance between north and south. But I would ask her why enhanced air travel would not achieve the same result, quicker and cheaper.

Another specious claim by the Shadow Minister is that it will relieve over-crowding on existing lines. Again, we demand details, in which way, when and at what cost will this be achieved?

Last in this entirely stupid list of bogus claim demonstrates the newly minted Green credentials of today’s hopeless Tories; in this one she argues that her policies will be “helping to protect future generations from climate change.” This claim centers around the idea that trains are good and planes are bad. How about the disruption, cost and delay caused by trying to construct a whole new rail network for super fast trains?

Theresa then stakes her claim for posterity, “It will leave a lasting legacy for the future - and it will lay the foundations for a high speed network that I believe will one day stretch across the country.”

She went on to state, “We will target construction of the new high speed line to begin in 2015, with full completion by 2027.”

Theresa is featured on the Conservative web site in which it states, “Theresa is the Shadow Secretary of State for Transport. She owns a Mini, but spends a lot of time traveling round Britain on public transport.” It tells you everything about this series of Green lite policies and statements.

How’s this for an idea, what if we built the new rail service PLUS the third runway PLUS the new airport to the East of London, PLUS a new inner Motorway where the present North and South Circular roads struggle through the beltway of inner London? Do that and you will have done your job properly Theresa, don’t do that and the chronic British transport situation is just doomed to get ever worse.