interestrateripoff Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-25444981 London "is becoming a giant suction machine draining the life out of the rest of the country", Business Secretary Vince Cable has warned.Mr Cable made the comment while saying that he believed regional airports should be expanded rather than London's Heathrow Airport. The Lib Dem minister told BBC Radio 4's Today some "more balance" was needed. But Mayor of London Boris Johnson said Mr Cable's assertion was "stupefying and ridiculous". And Labour criticised the coalition for "dismantling" regional developments agencies, arguing that its alternative approach to addressing economic imbalances in the UK had been "feeble". With HS2 to help to increase the process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zugzwang Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 http://www.bbc.co.uk...litics-25444981 With HS2 to help to increase the process. BoJo's right. London isn't sucking the life out of the country, it's sucking the life out of the entire planet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slacker Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 The Thames airport was a cracking idea. Heathrow is a non-starter - every way in to it is gridlocked at any reasonable time you'd want to get to it. Creating an east side hub for trains in to Paris and air traffic was genius. There is a lot of under utilised land round there. It could have been a flagship infrastructure project. At some point in next couple of decades there will be HS trains to China/Russia - we're going to need a big facility in the east for all that. Just to take this thread immediately off-topic, I was looking at Google Maps the other days - the number of golf courses between Heathrow and Farnborough is comedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 (edited) Vince should know....he's part of it. Edited December 19, 2013 by TheCountOfNowhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheBlueCat Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Abolish business rates for everywhere north of Watford and the problem would be solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCountOfNowhere Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Abolish business rates for everywhere north of Watford and the problem would be solved. Abolish Parliament and have distributed governance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Abolish business rates for everywhere north of Watford and the problem would be solved. The problem is that the politicians agree with you. Maybe not on this precise proposal, but they agree with the general approach of trying to fix the UK's problems with a little tweak to this tax by introducing a new exception, a little bump to that industry with a new subsidy, a little handout for whichever demographic they want to curry favour with this month, and so on. They are like 17th century doctors arguing over how many leeches to apply or which size of blistering jar will work best. The idea that the system is not working because it has fundamental problems is nowhere to be seen. More fiddles aren't going to solve anything, it's time to start putting big ideas on the table like land reform, a citizens income, a land value tax, full reserve banking, an end to age discrimination in the tax and benefits systems etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winkie Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Vince should know....he's part of it. ......I do hope he is not disingenuous, changes like the weather, or is it age thing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ulfar Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Sorry no respect for Vince the wince, talks up a good game sometimes but does nothing about it. If anything he is part of the problem by supporting the coalition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TwoWolves Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Sorry no respect for Vince the wince, talks up a good game sometimes but does nothing about it. If anything he is part of the problem by supporting the coalition. +1. The man is a total waste of a seat in parliament. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dorkins Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Sorry no respect for Vince the wince, talks up a good game sometimes but does nothing about it. If anything he is part of the problem by supporting the coalition. He doesn't even talk a particularly good game, he just tetchily gripes about the occasional policy or economic statistic without saying why it's wrong and what should be done instead. If he's got something to say he should start saying it. If Cameron and Clegg want to sack a minister for saying that high house prices are harmful to the majority of the population, that house prices are already too high and policies to boost them further are insane then let them do that and show everybody whose side they're on. Politicians are terrified of being seen to disagree with the Westminster consensus because they think it will harm their careers. This behaviour is producing completely dysfunctional politics which doesn't listen or respond to the needs of the majority of the population. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okaycuckoo Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Cable is the only UK politician who consistently acknowledges the problem of private debt. And the only one who wants to split up RBS and form a state investment bank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Executive Sadman Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 There is life beyond the M25. Might be sucking in foreigners, but far more brits have left London than entered over the last 25 years. Not all of us are attracted by high prices, pollution, a diluted host culture, dirt and crime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little fish Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 (edited) Why is London the only place that matters... Change in house prices (%) November 2007 – October 2013 Source: Smith Institute analysis of HM Land Registry data 1 Peak values are set at November 2007 when they were highest in England and Wales rather than for each area. 2 ONS, Consumer Price Index Page 13 http://www.smith-ins...pdf%20%E2%80%A6 Edited December 19, 2013 by neontetra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okaycuckoo Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Brisk run through of London's issues by Bridget Rosewell, advisor to Boris up to 2012 (+ NED at Britannia up to ... 2009!) - 6 min interview: http://londonpublishingpartnership.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/bridget-rosewell-on-cities.mp3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest TheBlueCat Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Abolish Parliament and have distributed governance. If by that you mean abolish the westminster parliament and have much smaller regional ones then, yes, I agree. Even better, have direct democracy where everyone gets to vote on all important bills. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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