General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

If Boris gets his way with the care proposals currently being aired, the wealth that will be transferred from North to South of England will be far greater than any 'levelling up' which he might achieve.

When HS2 was debated in Parliament, there was much so called pork-barrel politics. To get support of MPs whose constituencies did not stand to benefit, they had to be bought off. So those constituencies reaped their benefits at that stage: an advantage not enjoyed by those who expected to benefit from High speed rail, but who now will not. That is not levelling up, it is not even maintaining the status quo. It is increasing the disparities in provision of infrastructure.

Yes patching up inadequacies in our rail system which should have been done long ago, need to be done now.

We heard the same nay-sayers oppose HS1 with just the same arguments, though once built, it is claimed to have been a boon to stimulating economic activity in the locations served. Perhaps HS2 will not do this. Maybe the North is too decayed to be restored.

On another thread, tonker described Britain as a shithole.
I would not use such terminology, but I think England is rapidly becoming a backward country.