Cameron wants to privatise roads (again)
Discussion
The Hitman said:
They mention it could be set up like the water companies are, tell me, how well are the water companies run? Seeing as the drought we are facing at the moment is because of leaks in the system.
Haven't water companies invested 82b in the last ten years? And the leaks are a minuscule percentage compared to overall water supplied.The VED will be divided up to fund EXISTING roads, private investment will be TOLL roads as it's thier money. The M6 toll is fantastic, but I can still get to London from Manchester via the M6/M40/M1 if I so desire.
I'd rather they make proper spending reductions in the public sector and then proportionally increase spending on infrastructure, but no one seems to be want this. They inherited an economy where something like 5% of bank lending goes towards productive purposes, it would make sense to divert a significant amount of spending from the public sector to infrastructure spending.
RichyBoy said:
I'd rather they make proper spending reductions in the public sector and then proportionally increase spending on infrastructure, but no one seems to be want this. They inherited an economy where something like 5% of bank lending goes towards productive purposes, it would make sense to divert a significant amount of spending from the public sector to infrastructure spending.
I'd vote for that party...I can see this going down rather badly with the voting populous - pay to use raods that are only being maintained (not necessarily made) by a 3rd party whe we do pay road tax.
There is no way to spin this as the question wil always come back"Well what is our road fund license for then? Where is that going?"
We all know the answer but it's never spoken about
There is no way to spin this as the question wil always come back"Well what is our road fund license for then? Where is that going?"
We all know the answer but it's never spoken about
Well regardless of where the cash go'es as long as i have to pay VED and FUEL DUTY
i will never EVER use a toll road in the uk.
used to live within a few miles of the M6 toll and have never used it and i never will.
sick of it all it is getting more and more that one cannot move without someone
sticking their hand out for cash just f
k off
i will never EVER use a toll road in the uk.
used to live within a few miles of the M6 toll and have never used it and i never will.
sick of it all it is getting more and more that one cannot move without someone
sticking their hand out for cash just f
k off
Come on guys, lets not get back into a "Road tax it pays for the road" debate. It doesnt, and hasnt for a long time.
Macaroon has realised there is fk all money left after spending it on ill-advised wind farms (though his father in law is happy I guess) and seeing as the last shower of st cleaned almost everyone out its time to hit the easy target again. Motorists.
Macaroon has realised there is f
k all money left after spending it on ill-advised wind farms (though his father in law is happy I guess) and seeing as the last shower of st cleaned almost everyone out its time to hit the easy target again. Motorists.Taxpayers will be able to buy them back at twice the price later after years of underinvestment I assume? That has always been the problem with privatisation both in utilities and other areas of transport (railways, ports and airports), there are too many incentives to cut costs by reducing maintenance/investment (like the Hatfield crash). Inevitably you end up with a hodge-podge situation in which government subsidises private industry and any real savings are questionable.
muffinmenace said:
Haven't water companies invested 82b in the last ten years? And the leaks are a minuscule percentage compared to overall water supplied.
The VED will be divided up to fund EXISTING roads, private investment will be TOLL roads as it's thier money. The M6 toll is fantastic, but I can still get to London from Manchester via the M6/M40/M1 if I so desire.
Are you fThe VED will be divided up to fund EXISTING roads, private investment will be TOLL roads as it's thier money. The M6 toll is fantastic, but I can still get to London from Manchester via the M6/M40/M1 if I so desire.
king serious? Southern Water lost 35 Billion litres of water in leaks last year, they are trying to get a drought order to refill the Bewl Reservoir, which has a total capacity of 31 Billion litres. If they are spending that amount of money, they aren't spending it well.speedy_thrills said:
Taxpayers will be able to buy them back at twice the price later after years of underinvestment I assume? That has always been the problem with privatisation both in utilities and other areas of transport (railways, ports and airports), there are too many incentives to cut costs by reducing maintenance/investment (like the Hatfield crash). Inevitably you end up with a hodge-podge situation in which government subsidises private industry and any real savings are questionable.
But if it's China can the UK not just nationalise it without paying them a thing, they'll love that won't they, sound socialist principles at work, they'll probably applaud the UK for doing it!!DT said:
Road tolling is one option - but we are only considering this for new, not existing, capacity. For example, were looking at how improvements to the A14 could be part-funded through tolling.
It's weasels like this that worry me; 'capacity' on an existing but improved road can mean an upgraded A14 (say) which becomes 100% toll.
Thin end of the wedge. My personal opinion is that there are certain services that should not be run for profit, where basic, common needs are served; water, electricity and so on. We all have to use the road network and while I don't object to some private projects (where you have an alternative option, as in M6 toll), the prospect of the majority of our roads being privately run for profit is yet another example of how the UK is turning into a plc.
F i F said:
For those who voted for this muppet, I bet you didn't vote for this.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cam...
I think we should investigate his and family links to the companies who will take on this sort of work. Funny how they can hypothecate some of the vehicle excise duty to private firms, but they couldn't do that when they had control of actually fixing and improving the bloody road network.
I think/hope CMD is just about to sign his electoral demise. Never vote Tory again.
He's my local MP. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/david-cam...
Daily T said:
The Prime Minister will warn that Britains road network is falling behind the rest of the world as he suggests that private companies should run motorways and A-roads.
Under the plans, the companies will receive a portion of the annual vehicle licence fee to maintain and upgrade the network. Firms would also be encouraged to build new motorways and roads that would be funded by tolls.
The Prime Minister will urge Britain to follow the example set by the Victorians by embarking on a new era of infrastructure building.
He will announce a new feasibility study to develop ways to bring private investment into Britains major roads, which independent experts calculate could be worth up to 100billion.
In a speech today, Mr Cameron will say: We need good roads The problems clear: we dont have enough capacity in places of key demand. Theres nothing green about a traffic jam - and gridlock holds the economy back.
So heres what we should do. Yes, move passengers and heavy goods on to rail. But also widen pinch points, add lanes to motorways by using the hard shoulder to increase capacity.
He will add: We need to look at innovative approaches to the funding of our national roads - to increase investment to reduce congestion.
Road tolling is one option - but we are only considering this for new, not existing, capacity. For example, were looking at how improvements to the A14 could be part-funded through tolling.
Senior sources said Britain was virtually unique in having a publicly-owned and maintained road network.
Under one plan to be considered, the countrys roads would be leased for several decades to a consortium of private companies. There may be different operators for each region.
An independent regulator would then pay the consortium a percentage of the annual road tax to maintain and upgrade the network.
As with water companies, the private companies would be able to make a certain amount of profit annually from the contracts, which would effectively be set by the regulator.
Last night, it was not clear whether the Government would sell the roads or simply save money by paying private companies less to maintain and upgrade them than they currently cost to run.
New roads would also be built by operators who would then charge motorists directly - with the tolls also controlled by an independent regulator.
In todays speech, the Prime Minister will speak of his frustration at Britains increasingly poor and ageing infrastructure. The truth is, we are falling behind, he will say. Falling behind our competitors. And falling behind the great, world-beating, pioneering tradition set by those who came before us.
There is now an urgent need to repair the decades-long degradation of our national infrastructure and to build for the future with as much confidence and ambition as the Victorians once did.
Infrastructure matters because it is the magic ingredient in so much of modern life It affects the competitiveness of every business in the country; it is the thread that ties our prosperity together.
I don't have time at the moment but can someone remind me what Tories said about this at last election.Under the plans, the companies will receive a portion of the annual vehicle licence fee to maintain and upgrade the network. Firms would also be encouraged to build new motorways and roads that would be funded by tolls.
The Prime Minister will urge Britain to follow the example set by the Victorians by embarking on a new era of infrastructure building.
He will announce a new feasibility study to develop ways to bring private investment into Britains major roads, which independent experts calculate could be worth up to 100billion.
In a speech today, Mr Cameron will say: We need good roads The problems clear: we dont have enough capacity in places of key demand. Theres nothing green about a traffic jam - and gridlock holds the economy back.
So heres what we should do. Yes, move passengers and heavy goods on to rail. But also widen pinch points, add lanes to motorways by using the hard shoulder to increase capacity.
He will add: We need to look at innovative approaches to the funding of our national roads - to increase investment to reduce congestion.
Road tolling is one option - but we are only considering this for new, not existing, capacity. For example, were looking at how improvements to the A14 could be part-funded through tolling.
Senior sources said Britain was virtually unique in having a publicly-owned and maintained road network.
Under one plan to be considered, the countrys roads would be leased for several decades to a consortium of private companies. There may be different operators for each region.
An independent regulator would then pay the consortium a percentage of the annual road tax to maintain and upgrade the network.
As with water companies, the private companies would be able to make a certain amount of profit annually from the contracts, which would effectively be set by the regulator.
Last night, it was not clear whether the Government would sell the roads or simply save money by paying private companies less to maintain and upgrade them than they currently cost to run.
New roads would also be built by operators who would then charge motorists directly - with the tolls also controlled by an independent regulator.
In todays speech, the Prime Minister will speak of his frustration at Britains increasingly poor and ageing infrastructure. The truth is, we are falling behind, he will say. Falling behind our competitors. And falling behind the great, world-beating, pioneering tradition set by those who came before us.
There is now an urgent need to repair the decades-long degradation of our national infrastructure and to build for the future with as much confidence and ambition as the Victorians once did.
Infrastructure matters because it is the magic ingredient in so much of modern life It affects the competitiveness of every business in the country; it is the thread that ties our prosperity together.
I think we should investigate his and family links to the companies who will take on this sort of work. Funny how they can hypothecate some of the vehicle excise duty to private firms, but they couldn't do that when they had control of actually fixing and improving the bloody road network.
I think/hope CMD is just about to sign his electoral demise. Never vote Tory again.
Take it from me, he is Bliar2.
He might live next to Clarkson, but a petrolhead he isn't.
He absolutely loves the green agenda. I'm beginning to think this lot is not worse than Noo Labour but just as bloody bad!
When did you see CMD at the wheel of a car? He has cars but I have never seen him drive one - anyone got a pic of him driving? Plenty of him on his pushbike. Blair was seen at the wheel of his Ford Galaxy many times.
Anyway, it's all immaterial, he's lost the next election now!
He's timing this to perfection.
Out at next GElection.
In as President of the EU (his ambition to put one of Bliar1).
Edited by dandarez on Monday 19th March 09:45
Halb said:
But if it's China can the UK not just nationalise it without paying them a thing, they'll love that won't they, sound socialist principles at work, they'll probably applaud the UK for doing it!!
No biting the hand 
. You have to behave impeccably towards China and India if you want to tag along for the economic ride by selling them shiny things.
"No more will the motorist be the cash cow" was the bleating of the Tories before the last election.
This is another way to screw the public.
More costings will be added to delivery. Parcel/letter costs will go up (it does not all go by rail).
Just wait for the cost to go on holiday to Cornwall or Scotland, that will start to kill the travel industry as fewer will travel long distance for holiday.
We are starting to get a two tier car ownership. road system next?
Sounds like 'selling' something back to us we already own. Utilities from the 1980s ring any bell?
What next, share schemes?
Unless this is to appease the Libdums?
This is another way to screw the public.
More costings will be added to delivery. Parcel/letter costs will go up (it does not all go by rail).
Just wait for the cost to go on holiday to Cornwall or Scotland, that will start to kill the travel industry as fewer will travel long distance for holiday.
We are starting to get a two tier car ownership. road system next?
Sounds like 'selling' something back to us we already own. Utilities from the 1980s ring any bell?
What next, share schemes?
Unless this is to appease the Libdums?
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