[Spoonman]

Actual Conservative Councillor. Apparently Jonathan Portes told him he was silly because he was dicking about doing foreign accents instead of discussing the issue. No idea why Jon goes on there, but he seems to give a good account of himself. Doubtless a case of "Welcome to test match cricket" for our bold youngster.

I'm surprised that he didn't end that tweet with "I am very smart."

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is there any market for this stuff? How many Leave voters massively care about divergence anyway? That certainly wasn't what the Leave campaign promised, Was "same as now but with more money and fewer Poles".

[Crabcakes]

Given how many polls now show an appetite for outright rejoining, let alone closer ties, it’s a bizarre position to take. The Tories seem to be going dead against every trend and majority preference. It’s like they want to lose the next GE as hard as possible.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I suspect Sir Flip Flop is as important a part as the EU bit. Not that it’s a particularly good suit this week.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Given how many polls now show an appetite for outright rejoining, let alone closer ties, it’s a bizarre position to take. The Tories seem to be going dead against every trend and majority preference. It’s like they want to lose the next GE as hard as possible.

I think you have to factor in the range of views of their core base and party membership. Also their level of education and general political awareness. They are just pandering to the votes they can't lose. Tory Corbynism.

[Andy McDandy]

I suspect Sir Flip Flop is as important a part as the EU bit. Not that it’s a particularly good suit this week.

He flip-flops. You and I make considered decisions based on new evidence.

[mattomac]

Amusing it was the position Gove took a few weeks back.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The YTS boy-Tory councillor is still going.

You won't be surprised to hear that his response to Jonathan being self-deprecating is utterly childish. Like Portes aged 23 was calling the shots in the Treasury...

[Tubby Isaacs]

Tory MP- economic forecasts by the unelected OBR are bad. Get the unelected Treasury to do them.

[Yug]

It shows just how low the Tories have sunk when Gidiot starts sounding like a grown-up by comparison.

[Yug]

Not only is Sunak trashing the country, but it would appear that he's hell-bent on trashing the Tory Party finances as well

A prominent Conservative donor has threatened to stop supporting the party if Rishi Sunak scraps the Birmingham to Manchester leg of HS2, as ministers consider pulling the plug on the multibillion-pound project.

Fears that phase 2 of the high-speed rail line could be junked were compounded on Sunday when Grant Shapps, the defence secretary, said it would be “crazy” not to review the plan in light of soaring costs.

A decision is expected to be taken by the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, and the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, early next week with an announcement pencilled in for Friday.


However, northern Tories believe that scrapping the northern leg before the Conservative party conference in Manchester next weekend would be a huge political embarrassment. They are urging Sunak to wait until closer to the autumn statement in November while they push for a compromise solution.

A leading donor to the party, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “Generations of my family have been proud to support what was the party of business. We’ve given year in, year out for decades and been active in the party.

“But I’ve spoken to other donors, and several of them feel – possibly for the first time ever – recent events seriously call into question the ability to continue to support people who don’t do what they say they’d do.”

It follows a similar move by the billionaire Phones4U founder, John Caudwell, who said he would stop donating to the Conservatives after the “madness” of Sunak’s U-turn on climate goals...

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... -rail-line

Will the Party of grasping cunts love of the folding green stuff force u-turns, or has Sunak decided that "the moron is not for turning"?

And how come it's taken anonymous Tory donor this long to realise that the Tories are a bunch of lying cunts?

[Youngian]

It follows a similar move by the billionaire Phones4U founder, John Caudwell, who said he would stop donating to the Conservatives after the “madness” of Sunak’s U-turn on climate goals...

That’s a pity, I was hoping the only donors they had left after the election are Brexit mid wits and swivel eyed loons like Caudwell.

[Crabcakes]

What, exactly, would a compromise solution to scrapping Brum to Manc HS2 look like? High speed bus replacement service? Have it run as far as the northern powerhouse of Stoke on Trent? Only run it on Sundays??!?

[Tubby Isaacs]

I think they mean HS2 going to Crewe. Which at least sounds more northern than Birmingham.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah, John. You missed out "and add far less capacity"

[Tubby Isaacs]

What's "full on train visibility of traffic" anyway?

And apparently his idea of "modern signalling systems" doesn't work on lines with mixed traffic.

[Abernathy]

So Redwood’s a fucking expert on railways now, is he ?

Jeebus, the man is a sick joke.

[Yug]

John probably thinks signalling is still done by men pulling big levers in greenhouses on top of brick pillars. Men who communicate with each other by ringing bells up and down a telegraph line. John doesn't know that advanced modern radio signalling was introduced in 1984*, when he was Thatcher's Director of the No 10 Policy Unit. John's a bit thick, and very ignorant.


*On the Dingwall - Kyle of Lochalsh line.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Redwood: the man is sick.

FTFY

[Boiler]

John probably thinks signalling is still done by men pulling big levers in greenhouses on top of brick pillars. Men who communicate with each other by ringing bells up and down a telegraph line. John doesn't know that advanced modern radio signalling was introduced in 1984*, when he was Thatcher's Director of the No 10 Policy Unit. John's a bit thick, and very ignorant.


*On the Dingwall - Kyle of Lochalsh line.

He probably rejects the technologies of ERTMS/ETCS because the "E" stands for "European"...

The bottom end of the ECML will be under those systems with in-cab signalling soon: the irony of fitting a steam locomotive (60163) with said equipment would be lost on him.

There are still pockets of manual signalling around here: Eastfield SB in the goods yard at Peterborough being a case in point.