Alternative route to Plymouth

[whole diary]

[Oberon]

It looks as if Labour are in favour of the Exteter-Tavistock-Plymouth alternative route to Cornwall. Or is this just political rhetoric?

http://www.exeterexpressandecho.co.uk/Labour-accuse-Government-turning-alternative-rail/story-28469441-detail/story.html

[ChrisB]

The latter, possibly using money from abandoning Trident.

[Red Squirrel]

It looks as if Labour are in favour of the Exteter-Tavistock-Plymouth alternative route to Cornwall.

No it doesn't! All she said was:

Dawlish is always going to be vulnerable just by virtue of where the line is. [Ministers] need to properly assess what the options are for ensuring long term resilience.

Or is this just political rhetoric?

Judge for yourselves, people..! The context is slightly different, but this says it all:

And on extending electrification beyond Bristol, she said it was "certainly" a possibility a Labour Government would be interested in.

So that's it, categorically: They definitely might think about it.

[ellendune]

Depends how marginal the government Tory Party think the seats are come the next election.  Look out for money spent on further investigations (no not on actually doing anything just more thinking about it) as 2020 approaches.

[Oberon]

A good thing too to keep an eye on Lib Dem policies in the West Country, they might always take some of those precious Tory seats back..

[TaplowGreen]

Ask yourself what Labour did about it between 1997-2010.

[JayMac]

Ask yourself what the Conservatives did about it between 1979-1997.

[Thatcham Crossing]

...the above 2 posts only going to prove that they are all as bad as one another, and mostly in it for themselves

[ellendune]

Ask yourself what Labour did about it between 1997-2010.

But the far South West does not contain many Labour marginal.  So its only really a Tory/Lib Dem thing. 

[Red Squirrel]

So we're agreeing that if the Tories think there's a possibility of a LibDem resurgence in the South West, they'll pretend they're thinking about the possibility of building a new route; if they don't think there's any such possibility then they won't even bother to pretend. Is that about right?

[Red Squirrel]

Ask yourself what Labour did about it between 1997-2010.

But the far South West does not contain many Labour marginal.  So its only really a Tory/Lib Dem thing. 

To be fair, both Plymouth seats are Labour-Tory marginals...

[plymothian]

No, I think we're saying that politicians will speak rhetoric no matter what, especially if they have no intention of doing anything about it.

Labour had 3 terms to try and doing something about the railways and didn't.  Prescott was very gung-ho in his term as Transport Minister, but it was all hot air in the form criticism because he was impotent in action.

[Red Squirrel]

Labour had 3 terms to try and doing something about the railways and didn't. 

I think you're being very unfair to the last Labour administration - I seem to remember reading somewhere that during their three terms they built 400m of new railway in England. (What? Metres? Oh, that doesn't sound quite soimpressive...)

Prescott... was impotent in action.

You set em up... ach, someone else can knock em down.

[TaplowGreen]

Labour had 3 terms to try and doing something about the railways and didn't. 

I think you're being very unfair to the last Labour administration - I seem to remember reading somewhere that during their three terms they built 400m of new railway in England. (What? Metres? Oh, that doesn't sound quite soimpressive...)

Prescott... was impotent in action.

You set em up... ach, someone else can knock em down.

Who needs trains when you've got two Jags?

[chuffed]

Who needs trains when you've got two Jags?

Who needs Pauline when you've got Tracy Temple  onboard,in the office...on the desk, on the floor, or indeed anywhere else for that matter......