Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, highlights how British Government spending discriminates against England.

I have just come across a tweet from the Scottish Conservatives lauding the “Union Dividend”.  The tweet proclaims: “This week we once again saw the benefit of being in the UK.  Thanks to the Union every Scot received an extra £1,576 above the UK average . . . .”  Do not the Scottish Conservatives wonder how these words will be received by the English and Welsh? 

In such circumstances it is timely of Robin Tilbrook, Chairman of the English Democrats, to have just written an article on his blog, using figures from a House of Commons research paper, highlighting how British Government spending discriminates against England.

Here are the basic facts given in the first three paragraphs of Robin Tilbrook’s article.

“The House of Commons Library published a paper in November last year which was brought to my attention recently.  The report has the figures for the financial year 2016/17 of the Barnett Formula.  The Barnett Formula determines that differential spending on UK citizens depending on which of the UK countries those citizens live in. 

The summary of the House of Commons research paper shows that England has the lowest national average spent on every man, woman and child.  This was £8,898 in 2016/17.  In Northern Ireland by contrast, it was £11,042. 

If you live in the English “Regions” of the South East, East of England, East Midlands, South West or West Midlands you get less spent on you than even the average of England.  It is only in London that British Government spending is more than even one of the other Nations of the UK.  It is slightly more than Wales.  London has £10,192 for every man, woman and child, instead of the Welsh average of £10,076!”

The entire article is well worth reading, here is a link:

http://robintilbrook.blogspot.com/2018/08/england-discriminated-against-by.html

Marcus Fysh, MP for Yeovil, calls for further dualling of the A303 and A358.

Following the recent fatal crash on the A303 just west of Ilminster Marcus Fysh, the MP for Yeovil, has reiterated his call for further dualling of both the A303 and A358.*  The 3 lane Ilminster bypass section of the A303 is a dreadful stretch of road and does indeed need dualling as well as having, in my opinion, a speed limit of 50 mph.  Furthermore, many drivers approach and enter the roundabouts each end of the bypass – Southfields and South Petherton – at uncomfortably high speeds, both for themselves and those already on the roundabout.  As for the A358, I hate to think what turning right to join it will be like if it is dualled – such a manoeuvre is difficult enough now!         

As a former Bristolian I well remember the Long Ashton bypass on the southwest approach to Bristol and the awful accidents which occurred there until the layout of its 3 lane section was improved.

Unfortunately, I suspect dualling of the single carriageways on the A303 and A358 will only lead to traffic reaching the next bottleneck slightly quicker than before, and the extra capacity created will soon be filled by travellers from new towns such as the one proposed to straddle the A303 near Yeovilton.**

Even if Mr Fysh’s calls are heeded I doubt if the A303/A358 will be any less hazardous overall while an awful lot of money will have been spent just to cut a few minutes off the journey between London and the Southwest.  Perhaps drivers should simply be made to slow down, and allow their passengers to enjoy the wonderful scenery as they pass through Wiltshire, Somerset and Devonshire!

*http://www.chardandilminsternews.co.uk/news/16601929.a303-fatal-crash-causes-mp-to-issue-fresh-dual-carriageway-calls/

**https://www.somersetlive.co.uk/news/somerset-news/a303-garden-town-radical-plan-1002907

Speeding through a tunnel at Stonehenge, but crawling through South Somerset. The future on the A303?

The consequences of building a tunnel at Stonehenge and a garden town between Yeovilton and Babcary.

The £1.6 billion plan to bury a new dual carriage way section of the A303 in a tunnel at Stonehenge (Western Daily Press, February 8) may or may not come to fruition, but if it does I doubt it will improve journey times to and from the south west.  I suspect any time saved by a road tunnel at Stonehenge will be lost due the proposed new “garden town” of 15,000 homes straddling the A303 between Yeovilton and Babcary.  It will bring with it thousands of additional car owners many of whom will, of necessity, need to use the A303. 

If both plans are realised road traffic will hurtle westward past Stonehenge only to come to a crawl 40 miles down the road as citizens of South Somerset’s new “garden town” join the A303 while going about their daily affairs. 

Meanwhile, according to the 2017 Annual Local Authority Road Maintenance Survey from the Road Surface Treatments Association there is a national backlog of pothole repairs costing £12.6 billion.  Furthermore, the RAC Foundation reports almost 3,500 council maintained road bridges are sub-standard and £934 million would need to be spent restoring them.  Rather than use £1.6 billion trying to “reconnect the World Heritage landscape” at Stonehenge, surely it would be a better use of taxpayers’ money to spend it on helping maintain existing roads.