Climate and the poor get subordinated to power, privilege and wealth

17 April 2024

Hi Siobhan

Climate and the poor get subordinated to power, privilege and wealth

The first duty of regional government is to protect the interests of the poor and the weak.  You don't do that by spending £15 billion by 2040 on a gross, grandiose, but very nice, 150 miles of tramways when urban railways are unused or partly used and the existing bus network needs car commuters rewarded for leaving their motors at home to travel on a bus, train, tram to work.  This, to free up road space and bring greater efficiency for essential vehicle users.

The second duty of government is to do what it says.  It piously declared a climate emergency in 2019 but then carried on with business as usual.  It was all words and no action apart from the most determined action, from the 1980s, to rebuild the tram network the powerful elite had completely destroyed in the 1950s.  And, what was more, to simply rebuild it on the urban railway network that they had not obliterated in the last decades of the 20th century!  That action, far from mitigating climate breakdown, accelerates climate disaster.  Concrete and steel, heavily used in High Scam 2 and Metro construction, are both very energy intensive and, therefore, accelerate climate catastrophe.

Throughout, integrity and honourable behaviour (the Nolan Principles) are meant to be at the heart of government.

 How the Nolan Principles are applied by the WMCA

PHOTO - the likes of which you have never seen before, I'm pretty sure!:-

 NOLAN cannot possibly approve this two tier practice

Yet, morality is sadly lacking in regional governments as well as national.  The people and politicians are quite happy to support a never ending war of self-righteous defence in wiping out Palestinians because they cannot hit back.  Murdering them, in their case, is morally acceptable and reasonable because of 7 October.  However, it's a very different matter when it comes to attacking Iran for their 300 drones and missiles on 13/14 April or, fighting Russia to the death for invading and attacking Ukraine.

Bankrupt Brum means poverty for more and deepening poverty, too.  Is it, therefore, acceptable to pour billions, in price and in weight of greenhouse gases, into flaunting our wealth in a very fine and prestigious new tramway system of 150 miles, 8 lines and 380 tram stops, as the WMCA wants?