It's not the first time they've done this...
The Government have been accused of burying bad news, as it was announced this morning they were scrapping the electrification of railway lines in Wales, the Midlands and the North.
Labour Shadow Transport Secretary Andy McDonald attacked the Tories for sneaking the news out on the final day of parliament before the summer holiday.
The proposal to modernise the line from Cardiff to Swansea, the Midland mainline and rail tracks in the Lake District were abandoned by Chris Grayling on Thursday. This came after it emerged Network Rail spent overspent on – the costs in the Great Western region went as much as £1.9bn over budget.
The Welsh Government’s Economy Secretary, Ken Skates, accused the UK government of “years of broken promises” and urged them “to clarify the situation immediately.”
McDonald said the Tories are “taking people for a ride”, explaining
“The cancellation of works means passengers will be denied the faster, greener, more reliable train journeys they were promised, and South Wales will miss out on the economic activity that improved rail services deliver.
“They have put their own survival, finding £1bn for a deal with the DUP, ahead of everything else and it’s communities like those in South Wales that pay the price.”
The Conservatives also came under attack for attempting to bury bad news yesterday when they announced an increase in the state pension age – that means six million people will have to wait a year longer than they expected to get their state pension.
Work and Pensions Secretary David Gauke announced the state pension age will rise from 67 to 68 in 2037 – seven years earlier than planned. Funny he decided to do that on the same day BBC pay was dominating the news…
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3 Responses to “From the railways to pension age – are the government trying to bury bad news?”
Craig Mackay
Is this the same Chris Grayling who said only a couple of days ago that that was absolutely no chance whatsoever under any circumstances that HS2 would run over budget? He was confident because his department were so good at managing projects and making sure that they were delivered on time and in budget.
The picture on this piece shows him in a jail. Might it not be possible for him to be kept in their out of harms way? Would we not all be safer?
Will
As a child I was trained to finish one job properly before starting the next one so as to avoid getting muddled and making mistakes.
Here we have a government that has nothing sorted at all except for their own finances etc and they are happy to through billions and billions of tax payer’s money at vanity projects like HS2, Trident and Heathrow, none of which are really necessary but their “friends and buisness partners” will benefit hughly.
Britain needs to get it’s infrastructure and finances into good order first.
patrick newman
Why oh Why does the Labour Party continue to support HS2. It’s a legacy of the Osborne big project vanity trip and what is surprising is that he did not ask the Chinese to build it! It is the black hole for all future rail investment. It is not about jobs because more would be created by investing this money in the numerous needs throughout the country. For example a high speed connection to Stansted, removing the pinch points on the East Coast line ( after HS2 the East Coast will become a series of local services), Hull-Selby electicfication and all the projects that have now been cancelled. Opposing HS2 is a political winner!