Posted November 13, 201410 yr Good GOD this is intolerable! http://www.ft.com/ig/sites/2014/deficit-ca...r/?s=201_myW000 I only made it to £26.6bn. Obviously there are loads more potential choices out there that aren't covered on this (I'd like the Guardian to update the one they did in 2010 which had a load of options for every department), but there really is so little left that could be done without huge consequences (though I want the Guardian's option to privatise 10% of all the roads which basically cut the deficit in half even in 2010 *.*)
November 13, 201410 yr Of course. Anyway, it's well known that 76% of all statistics are made up on the spot.
November 13, 201410 yr £21.8 billion, yep, I can't do this. HS2 is a real tricky one as the biggest on the board, I would not choose to get rid of it, feels like we shouldn't be cutting future investment in infrastructure, but if pushed could do so to bring it up to 29.9.
November 14, 201410 yr £22.5bn overall, higher than I thought at the end. I feel I was a little bit harsh on Defence, mainly thanks to my pacifist outlook on things, but I'm not sure my conscience could deal with cuts to Healthcare/benefits/education, good thing I'm not chancellor ay? Edited November 14, 201410 yr by Chez Wombat
November 14, 201410 yr I got it to 48 billion by ignoring the options provided. I mostly hit transport buffers like TFL (why do they get subsidised in London - they should use local taxes for that), over 60's free transport (most have cars or use it for days out rather than shopping etc) scarppaed HS2, there are better infrastructure uses of money, ended subsidised arts funding (the lotto can take over that) cut 5% from the schools budget - theyve all had huge increases as enticements/forcing them to go academy and I'm hearing all sorts of ridiculous spending tales already now local gov has no control over what they spend cash on, and at the certain risk of sounding old, schools are way better financed than they were when I was at school, and we still somehow managed to pass exams - amazing! good teachers are the number one item. Lastly, I went for all of the tax options and increased basic tax 2p and higher rate 5p, though wouldn't take much convincing to leave the basic rate alone and increase top rate 10p or more....
November 14, 201410 yr £20.5bn. Virtually all either tax rises or on defence, the money for HS2 I'd reinvest in other train services. http://www.ft.com/ig/sites/2014/deficit-ca...tor/?s=1bmzm000
November 14, 201410 yr £21.8 billion, yep, I can't do this. HS2 is a real tricky one as the biggest on the board, I would not choose to get rid of it, feels like we shouldn't be cutting future investment in infrastructure, but if pushed could do so to bring it up to 29.9. Oh we definitely should scrap HS2. It uses technology that is decades old and would actually achieve very little, except increase yet further the disparity between London's wealth and the rest of the UK. If we seriously want to invest in future infrastructure we should be thinking about transport networks like maglev which would bring down travel time and therefore negate the need for internal flights in the UK. This would also increase capacity at our airports without the need for further runways in the SE.
November 14, 201410 yr Oh we definitely should scrap HS2. It uses technology that is decades old and would actually achieve very little, except increase yet further the disparity between London's wealth and the rest of the UK. If we seriously want to invest in future infrastructure we should be thinking about transport networks like maglev which would bring down travel time and therefore negate the need for internal flights in the UK. This would also increase capacity at our airports without the need for further runways in the SE. Conceded. I'm not amazingly informed on it, I was approaching this from the attitude of not wanting to cut anything that'll set back progress unnecessarily. I also forgot it was London-centric as well.
November 15, 201410 yr We definitely do need to do something about long distance travel within in the UK but HS2 wouldn't actually solve that much of it since it's only going 200 miles for now. You could pay for over a dozen cities to have a decent tram system with the same funds.
November 15, 201410 yr We definitely do need to do something about long distance travel within in the UK but HS2 wouldn't actually solve that much of it since it's only going 200 miles for now. You could pay for over a dozen cities to have a decent tram system with the same funds. Trams were the state of the art once, and now traffic crawls in most cities/big urban areas, we need them again. UK politicians are obsessed with pushing money into cycling as the alternative way forward, which it isn't on our crowded roads - some cycle officers locally have both suffered severe car injuries while promoting cycling, it kind of says it all and it's ludicrous to have shared transport routes - trams in the Amsterdam mode on the other hand would be efficient and reliable and safe for everyone (except cyclists) and better for the environment.
November 15, 201410 yr Trams were the state of the art once, and now traffic crawls in most cities/big urban areas, we need them again. UK politicians are obsessed with pushing money into cycling as the alternative way forward, which it isn't on our crowded roads - some cycle officers locally have both suffered severe car injuries while promoting cycling, it kind of says it all and it's ludicrous to have shared transport routes - trams in the Amsterdam mode on the other hand would be efficient and reliable and safe for everyone (except cyclists) and better for the environment. Cycling is important as well, but it's not enough on its own. Trams are needed half the time because the commuter rail network in this country has been completely deficient for decades. The East Didsbury Metrolink extension in Manchester was built on the old commuter line which was closed in the 1960s to encourage people to use their cars.
November 15, 201410 yr We do need High Speed Rail but the current proposals for HS2 are a complete joke. We need a route up both coasts (Penzance to Aberdeen via Glasgow, Stirling and Dundee & Dover(Chunnel) via London to Aberdeen via Edinburgh, Fife and Dundee) with smaller routes across the country. eg. Glasgow to Edinburgh, Cardiff to London, Liverpool to Manchester to Leeds etc. A well covered effective route could challenge short haul air travel and provide a good link through to the continent via the Chunnel
November 16, 201410 yr We do need High Speed Rail but the current proposals for HS2 are a complete joke. We need a route up both coasts (Penzance to Aberdeen via Glasgow, Stirling and Dundee & Dover(Chunnel) via London to Aberdeen via Edinburgh, Fife and Dundee) with smaller routes across the country. eg. Glasgow to Edinburgh, Cardiff to London, Liverpool to Manchester to Leeds etc. A well covered effective route could challenge short haul air travel and provide a good link through to the continent via the Chunnel You can already do all this tho right~ I'm in favour of HS2 only on the basis that we should invest in our railways but obviously there are many that think that HS2 isn't the best way to do this. Who has the correct answer? Fun fact: Penzance to Aberdeen is the longest direct rail journey in the UK. I got £24.6 billion, which seems like a big enough reduction to me!
November 16, 201410 yr Um...I made it to £40.5bn :unsure: Maybe I'm not such a deficit denier afterall. Though I'd be spending more on health, welfare and local services which would cancel out a good portion of the savings. Edited November 16, 201410 yr by Danny
November 16, 201410 yr Author http://www.moopy.org.uk/forums/images/smilies/grin.gif at Danny CHANNELING HIS INNER OSBORNE and scrapping CHRISTMAS BONUSES!
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