Southeastern High Speed Trains, St Pancras International
A committee of MPs have basically given the thumbs up to the £32 billion High Speed 2 network. This is great news, we certainly need to move on from our Victorian rail network. However there are much more pressing issues that will be far more beneficial to the economy than building the HS2.
The UK really does need a network of high speed tracks – preferably feeding into St Pancras Station and the eurorail network rather than Euston. We’ve rested too long on the Victorian laurels and now our public rail system is falling apart and is too slow. Many of the opponents say that it’s a lot of money to spend in order to save 20 minutes on the Birmingham to London rail route. They fail to mention that this stretch is just the first part of a line that will eventually run all the way to Scotland. It may be just 20 minutes on that first section but the proposed saving between Edinburgh and London will be much greater -running into hours saved rather than minutes.
While upgrading our rail network is important and should take a high priority with public investment there is a much more essential issue that the money would be better spent on and that is the provision of affordable decent housing.
Fast clean rail is needed but it’s a luxury.
Not having a fast clean and modern rail system is a blight on Britain but it will not lead to riots in the streets, social disorder and support for extremist political parties which a lack of housing will do. I voted Tory in the last election because of Labour’s failure to provide enough houses. I did not expect the Tories to build even less houses than Labour which is the current situation. I’ve already made my decision on who to vote for at the next election. If the current government are not building 300,000 houses a year by the next election then I’ll be voting for the British National Party (BNP).
I may not be too happy with some of their policies but at my age the most important thing for me is to find somewhere affordable and secure to live and housing will be the only policy on which I’ll be casting my vote on election day.
UK is close to major unrest over lack of housing.
I really don’t think that politicians from any of the major parties realise just how close we are to major civil unrest in this country – driven mainly by the lack of housing in the UK. We have major over-crowding, poor quality expensive private rentals and house prices beyond the reach of at least one generation and for many it’s now 2 generations of people who can not afford a home.
Internationally it’s excepted that sustainable affordable housing is priced at between 3 and 4 times average salaries. In the UK, even in the depths of a recession (and for large numbers of young people we have not yet left recession), house prices are still going up and rents are at record levels.
It’s a sad fact that in this country you can leave school at 20 and work constantly for 14 years and when you get made redundant you are expected to give up your flat or home and move into a house share because housing benefit will only pay you rent on a room until you’re over 35 – perhaps it a policy that should also be applied to over 65′s as well. That will release a few much needed family homes.
House price to earning ratio need to come back to between 3 or 4.
Massive house building of affordable homes will reduce social tensions and give young people a stake in the future of society. Bringing house prices back down to 3 or 4 times average salary will bring back the work ethic because people will see the opportunity to own a homes as an achievable aim. A massive house building programme will send out the signal that houses prices must fall to affordable levels.
We should not be frightened of falling house prices – they fell by 50% in a year in the early 1970′s and the country did not collapse. Getting house prices back to more historic value/earnings ratio has to happen ASAP.
It’s not just a question of building matchboxes in the sky. Modern British house and flat sizes makes the Japanese seem overly generous in space allocation. We need to be building proper family homes with gardens. Homes with rooms big enough for a proper table so you can invite friends and families around for a meal instead of being able to invite just one friend at a time because you only have space for a 3 seater breakfast bar.
High speed rail will not reduce social tensions.
I go to London a lot and speak to young people in the inner city and tensions are really high at the moment. Lack of jobs is a real concern but it’s housing and the lack of it that is really driving those tensions. And it’s not just in the inner city that young people are deeply concerned about housing, it’s also a major issue in towns and rural areas.
What I hear is that this is not just about a wealth gap, it’s very much a generation gap. Over the last 3 or so years in particular I speak with young people who are getting increasingly annoyed and upset with the baby boomer generation. That annoyance is getting increasingly bitter and vicious.
A warning sign? jokes about killing off baby-boomers.
You know things are getting bad when the biggest laughs and cheers at a comedy club are for jokes that involve baby-boomers being killed off. It’s a warning sign that needs to be taken notice of.
HS2 is a great national project but it is a luxury. We need the housing crisis in the UK to be declared a national emergency and a house building programme as big as the 1950′s and 1960′s commenced immediately. If we don’t get our priorities right then increasing support for extremist parties will be the least of our worries.
External sites:
