The coincidence would have been lost on no one. On the day chosen last week by the Government to launch its £1.6 billion blitz on the potholes and the lamentable state of so many of our roads, the blame game was raging over precisely how and why another key piece of our national infrastructure was closed.
Be in no doubt, shutting down the nation and Europe’s largest airport — and Heathrow is also still among the most recognised airport names across the globe — was akin to hanging the “Shop Closed” sign on the country’s front door.
And now it appears there was enough electricity to power at least two of its five terminals which, though it would have provided a restricted service, most passengers would surely have been happier to wait a few extra hours for their bags to be unloaded rather than turning back to Bangkok.
Even more bafflingly the “current” Heathrow boss Thomas Woldbye — who earned £3.2 million last year — opted to go to bed when the decision to close needed to be taken. How he managed to sleep at such a time is bewildering, but hopefully soon it will be a case of Thomas Woldbye-bye to this clinker.
But in truth, Heathrow serves as a metaphor for the state of too much of this country: seemingly running on fumes and unable to withstand any stress points, and the hideous “computer says no” mentality reigning unchecked.
Back to the roads, and the Government’s announcement included a threat to local authorities that if they don’t publish annual reports on how they are dealing with fixing the potholes, they will have their funding cut, which is surely a little perverse.
If a council that is struggling to fund its services will then be denied extra funds to fix the roads, how is that going to fill in these dangerous holes? And while a £1.6 billion boost is undoubtedly a lot of money, the Local Government Association has estimated the true cost of the repairs backlog to be closer to £17 billion!
If all this seems drearily predictable, you’d be absolutely right as the nation that gave the world everything from the steam engine to cement and the telephone to the World Wide Web seems unable now to build any major piece of infrastructure, or to even take a decision about some.
The HS2 project began as a £33 billion rail link joining London with two ‘Northern Powerhouse’ cities Manchester and Leeds, but that was in 2013. Now, TWELVE years later the cost has ballooned to £95 billion and the line won’t go further north than Birmingham.
Meanwhile, a new river crossing for the Thames linking Kent and Essex has racked up costs of £800 million over 16 years with no actual decision being taken during that time. That money all went on “planning” and not a spade hit the ground!
The film “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” was a box office comedy hit back in the 1980’s, making millions. Now this country appears hellbent on turning it into real life.
