Hunger because the political parties have wrong priorities. Always more money for nuclear warheads, aircraft carriers, arms manufacturing for war in Yemen, £15 BILLION for 150 miles of tram lines when buses, trains need upgrading. AND fare-free travel for all ages, not just mine!
George Monbiot on Keir Starmer
Mr Street will have responsibility for some of the biggest issues affecting the lives of around 2.8m people in the West Midlands.
His powers include control over long-term budgets from central government to:
As Mayor, Mr Street will also continue to lobby Government and act as an advocate and ambassador on the global stage, championing the West Midlands and the issues that matter most to local people.
https://www.wmca.org.uk/news/andy-street-re-elected-as-mayor-of-the-west-midlands/
CAN I AND MY FELLOW OAPs COME TO THE RESCUE OF THE BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS?
"Bob W-F and Sandra emphasised that we need to have a model of LU where we develop a practice that is carried out in common, that we develop the theory behind our practice, resolve upon specific actions and behaviour ...
Trams are also very, very popular with me for their smoothness and newness and their first-class nature of travel that does put them top of the class as regards public transport for able and disabled alike! Give me trams and trains, anytime over the bus that throws me about. But if that small prize of a 150 miles, underground and overground tram network is given up, it will then help to give us the much bigger prize of postponing ecocide. Is that thinking something you can go along with? Some inconvenience and restraint as a price well worth paying for LIFE!
The threat of extinction from climate catastrophe and oil and gas shortages can only hasten as the business as usual brigade of gung ho, more bigger, faster, grander of everything projects roll on remorselessly. Wrong, foolish, duped by economics living infinitely and unnaturally
My wife and I survive on about £18 K/year as OAPs. Will you work in opposing your party's plan to waste £15 BILLION of greenhouse gases to 2040 for cut & cover underground and overground trams to replace some buses and trains? Instead, Fare-Free Public Transport extended to all?
10 May 2021 Dear Mr Weller Thank you for your email in which you request the following information: How do the construction costs compare between Sprint and Metro, please? Sprint costs are £4.2m per KM Metro costs are £55.6m per KM
Why?
The popularity of the party leader is all-important when it comes to elections.
Voters like Johnson and fondly call him Boris or Bojo. They can forgive him for Covid mistakes and just remember the success of the vaccination rollout that they thanked the Prime Minister by voting for him.
They overlooked the bad Covid past after so quickly being vaccinated.
More feelings than facts in voting for HMG.
Don't know what's best for them.
The electorate is right-wing and Labour is regarded as left-wing.
Remainers are more left-wing than Leavers who are more right wing. Anti-foreigner feeling is more likely to lead you to vote for Brexit and the Conservatives. International London voted for Remain, as did Scotland and N Ireland.
Rough, tough areas like the bleak, backward Black Country are very pro-white, typical traditional English culture and harking back to the good old days of Empire and white, English power around the world.
This is a most useful and authoritative overview, Doug. Thank you.
I would add that each of us must be active individually in writing, texting, phoning and trying to engage with the decision-makers. I want to influence them towards implementing actions and expenditure to build a low greenhouse gas emitting society, urgently and, to take wealth from the rich to level up the poor for that eco-socialist society you wrote about. And, for those with excess wealth to voluntarily part with it to humanitarian and poverty-fighting organisations.
We can even commend the Conservative talk of levelling up as being our sociable eco-socialism of, "from each according to his ability to each according to his need." This is such a fine principle for especially B Johnson and crew to adopt.
Ecology before economic prosperity; and all are actions subordinated to the urgent imperative of slashing greenhouse gases from fossil fuel burning.
Of being remembered by our descendants as ancestors who DID act to limit the runaway greenhouse effect.
Since 1981, the W Mids CC has always given the restoration of a tram network on road and railways the top priority over reopening the railways with commuter trains and making the bus service the number one choice for commuters and shoppers. Make this your pledge, NOT trams Steve?
Are you prepared to no longer support light rail or a mass transit system? Instead, no more destruction of our existing railways, the trains back on the lines that have survived and Fare-Free Public Transport. Agree?
What if I told you that we have a railway "of national strategic significance" alongside or near to the bumper to bumper M5/M6 and it was not open to passengers? Tim Weller Independent candidate for W Mids Mayor 2020.
3 Dec 2018
What are your reasons for not speaking out against the destruction of the Black Country's fourth railway line and, for not opposing the Sandwell politicians who have done down a decent Leader of their Council who is a woman of integrity, Cllr Yvonne Davies?
Well lived, Paul but like us all, for burning our finite supply of fossil fuels that we have unsuspectingly released from a Pandora's Box of unintended consequences and horrors. We must now live much more lightly on the planet to minimise travel and maximise simpler lifestyles.
Dudley Hippodrome is lost because all the politicians have supported the disgraceful scandals & scams of HS2, Metro trams, powerless Mayor, Sprint, destruction of our railway lines, more bureaucracy with Combined Authority, Midlands Connect ... who have all supported instead of denouncing these wrong practices.
Falter is divided into four sections: "The Size of the Board", "Leverage", "The Name of the Game", and "An Outside Chance".
The beginning of Falter explains the growing consequences of a changing climate. In detail, Bill McKibben explains how environmental factors such as pollution and ocean acidity are contributing to a decrease in the quality of human and natural life.
The book then describes concerns about economic policy and political ideology. Specifically, Falter references numerous individuals who are involved with the oil industry in the U.S. Falter contains numerous references to Exxon, which is contributing to the climate emergency through oil exploitation. Criticism of right-wing politics, blame of the Koch Brothers and Donald Trump is prevalent, explaining how conservatism and libertarianism contribute to the climate epidemic.
In the ending of Falter McKibben transitions from the warnings of rapid human innovation, then provides reasons for hope, such as renewable energy advances (especially solar panels[2]) and climate activism.[3]
Hi Sophie
A spokesman for the Mayor of the West Midlands said: “The extension of the West Midlands Metro tram line, which is now under construction from Wednesbury to Dudley, Merry Hill and Brierley Hill, was identified as the most cost-effective way of providing this improved connectivity for both local residents and businesses. The most cost-effective at about ten more expensive per Km to construct the tram on roads and railway than to put the commuter and regional trains back on the full, unused length, to finish the ready-built principal, mainline railway. Existing buses would meet the trains - called integrated transport.
“This is largely because the use of light rail enables a high frequency service to operate providing direct access to both the heart of Dudley town centre and the Merry Hill shopping centre. Buses already provide direct access to both! Trams to Merry Hill will be an additional attraction and spur to desert Dudley town shops.
“This would not be possible with a traditional train service, which would be unlikely to justify more than a half-hourly frequency service and which would be confined to the former railway alignment rather than providing access to those areas to which people actually want to travel. The railway alignment from Derby to Devon via Dudley or, Burton on Trent to Bristol via Brierley Hill is exactly where people want to travel. Have buses taking people to the railway station and meeting the train at the other end!
“The West Midlands Metro Wednesbury – Brierley Hill extension will also be connected onto the existing West Midlands Metro line at Wednesbury, providing direct links to Birmingham, Wolverhampton and West Bromwich and will also provide the opportunity to change at Dudley Port Station for local train services. Having the trains back on the railway line would do all this just as well. And did do for 100 years until we fell in love with cars and deserted trains in the 60s.
Now, public transport is made worse with, sometimes, an additional change needed with trams added to the mix. Multi-mixed up transport! Eg, public transport passengers on the eleven bus routes using Hagley Road.
“Trains stopped running on this route many decades ago and their reinstatement has not been a priority for the rail industry. The first priority was to destroy railway lines for roads and buildings. Secondly, for HS1, HS2 and Cross-Rail to be built, instead. However, as a result of the investment in Metro we are seeing a number of bridges and structures along the route repaired or removed and rebuilt. This could potentially open up options longer term for the development of freight and passenger rail services, in parallel with Metro, along the wider Walsall to Stourbridge route in future.” The existing or new bridges and tunnels are NOT being widened to take trains and trams in parallel. Only freight trains may be possible at night when the trams are not running. The experts are wrong. The false and misleading magic of "passive provision" was always made up, concocted, to brush off those who had seen through their bad practice. Indeed, their folly.
