1.1 Selflessness
Holders of public office should act solely in terms of the public interest.
It is not in the public interest to destroy the tram network; next, one third of the railway network followed by rebuilding the tram network on two mainline railways that had been mothballed and one of them even, supposedly, officially safeguarded! BROKEN PRINCIPLE
1.2 Integrity
Holders of public office must avoid placing themselves under any obligation to people or organisations that might try inappropriately to influence them in their work. They should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends. They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.
TfWM/WMCA are in the same building as the UK-wide tram promotion group, Tram UK Ltd. They have laid themselves open to being improperly influenced. Vested interests are at play here. Hence, the W Midlands Corrupt Authority. PRINCIPLE BROKEN
1.3 Objectivity
Holders of public office must act and take decisions impartially, fairly and on merit, using the best evidence and without discrimination or bias.
From the above evidence, objectivity has clearly not been shown. Only incompetence in over forty years of giving preferential treatment to rebuilding the tram network on the surviving railway network, rather than returning commuter, regional and intercity trains. BROKEN PRINCIPLE
1.4 Accountability
Holders of public office are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this.
But then we are not allowed to say anything! WMCA has all the correct Scrutiny committees in place and does allow the public to attend meetings but no-one does - apart from Albert from Railfuture for decades and, me! However, the councillors and officers do not question, challenge and check out anything - ever - but simply rubber stamp decisions. This has brought about the follies and scandals and incompetences I have outlined, here. PRINCIPLE BROKEN
1.5 Openness
Holders of public office should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for so doing.
But then we are not allowed to say anything! The public has shown no interest in what has gone on since the obliteration of the tram network in the 1950s and part of the urban railway network in following decades. The public always lets the authorities get on with it. Two Dudley councillors actually told me that they have no say over what goes on with public transport because that is all down to TfWM at 16 Summer Lane! BROKEN PRINCIPLE
1.6 Honesty Holders of public office should be truthful.
Three lies are in evidence -
About the major, 120 Kms Black Country Railway “of national strategic significance”:-
"light rail provision provides the basis for restoring heavy rail services at the appropriate time." Tom Magrath, Passenger Services Director, Centro; dated Sept 2000
"Passive provision" is to be built into the WBHE to allow heavy rail services to be reinstated on the tramline. So proclaimed Laura Shoaf in a BBC ‘Midlands Today’ interview last decade. But how can commuter, regional and intercity trains, with freight, share the same track as trams at an average speed of 22 mph?
Cllr Carol Hyatt, City of Wolverhampton Council member on the WMCA’s Transport Delivery Committee said: “Evidence tells us that a Transport Hub (for a number of different public transport modes - Tim) results in more people being able to use public transport more easily (in fact, with greater difficulty and delays from all the changes - Tim). I am proud that in Wolverhampton we have invested in our public transport creating a transport hub where train, bus and soon Metro (and very light rail trams, too and, possibly, even ultra light rail!) will all be available in the same place so people can go from one to the other with ease (instead of being able to stay on the one train between Worcester, Dudley and Derby with NO changes between the one train and two or three kinds of trams - wot a joke!!).
Our ‘experts’ have turned a 120 Kms principal, mainline railway "of national strategic significance" between Worcester and Derby into, at best eventually, a train-tram-train railway with more changes and delays between the trains and trams at Walsall and Stourbridge, even if they do keep the tram on the railway down to Stourbridge. All those greenhouse gas emissions to ruin our future could have been saved if only every party had finished the railway with the commuter and regional trains that had been so successful for 100 years!
The current WBHE, Phase 2 plan, concretes over housing land, nature, public open space and my wonderful guerrilla garden at Merry Hill. Not very clever!
Bus services are no way good enough or popular enough and are starved of funding because the money goes to building High Scam 2, Metro and Sprint extensions. Go to Kiddi by bus, and tell me what you think of their slum-looking, joke of a bus station! Together with a dreadful, 'coffin rest’ like bus shelter nearby, it is quite a giggle! PRINCIPLE BROKEN
1.7 Leadership
Holders of public office should exhibit these principles in their own behaviour and treat others with respect. They should actively promote and robustly support the principles and challenge poor behaviour wherever it occurs.
Sadly lacking from top directors over many years. Well meaning but, pretty pathetic especially over the climate emergency and resource depletion. Appear clueless and paralysed by inertia.
Andy Street is a lovely man, a great Chair of the CA and a fine PR man to represent the region. I voted for him in 2017, 2021 and will, no doubt, “vote Andy” for a third time in 2024. However, his enthusiasm for HS2, Metro, Sprint, Very light rail (VLR) and all things multi-modal transport are grossly extravagant, most unhelpful and totally unnecessary. The country cannot afford these useless, extremely expensive public transport schemes that only a small proportion of the population will ever use. BROKEN PRINCIPLE timweller1@gmail.com
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