So, look here for the details of the debate.
One extract from John's blog that bears repeating here, as it sums up the feelings of many in STAG and in the villages alongside the A303, the A358 and the A30, of all political persuasions, is this:
My constituents have been promised so much on this issue by many Ministers over many years; sadly, they have been let down every time. I am determined that they will not be let down again. I ask the Minister to commit today to ensuring that our hopes for the A303 can become a reality. I know that he is a plain-speaking Yorkshireman. I look for plain speaking in his response to us Wiltshire folk, who are fed up with constant words and little action.
Here, here, John! Here, here.
John has also written an article for Politics Home yesterday on the A303, which is here, and his column in the Salisbury Journal this week will also focus on it. He was with BBC Wiltshire this morning and he will be continuing to speak to journalists today across a range of media.
We've heard mutterings in some quarters that WiSBAng must be a Tory mouthpiece, given the amount of coverage we have given to John Glen in recent weeks. Nothing could be further from the truth. The person hanging over our shoulders as we write this was very active in running the campaign of one of John's competitors at the last general election and curses every time we thank John. Frankly, this is an issue that transcends party politics.
The bottom line is that we will continue to support all those who make a positive contribution to solving this longstanding problem and we will bring to task those who are "all wind and piss" like some of the tanyard Tories of Wiltshire Council - as James Joyce might have phrased it and probably phrased it better even than John Glen :) As we said, this issue transcends party politics, so we will be equally snarky about Lazy Lib-Dems, Useless UKIPs, Gormless Greens and Lacklustre Labourites. Praise will be equally fairly distributed.
4 comments:
Hurrah!
But what about the raving loonies?
Good but is it all HOT AIR once more ?,what has John Glen done to prove himself?has he a track record ?(as Austin Underwood once had for ACTION in these ere parts ).
The proof of the pudding is in the eating ,and so far the puddings have all been thrown in the bin.
So what do we have ?a northern bypass ,thro army land and near houses ? no not suitable .
A tunnel ,this will cause mayhem to the existing A 303 for two more years whilst being built.no not suitable .
Or the most obvious route joining the existing duel carriageways at Amesbury and west of Winterbourne Stoke ,running through the natural valley to the south of the A303 where it passes Stonehenge ,this will leave stonehenge invisible from the new road (liked by EH)and the bonus of being built away from the A303 and causing zero extra congestion .
The road would pass between WS and Berwick ,all farm land ,now a two lane duel carriageway can be routed between any historic remains ,little disturbance to ALL concerned and it just has to be the cheapest option,i am quite willing to provide tea and cakes to ANY minister that will visit me and i will show him the best all round route .
So far, I'd say John Glen has been doing a pretty good job in keeping the subject in the Press and securing last weeks debate in the Commons. He's actually made the critical point that you might have expected those in Wiltshire Council with a transport brief to be making - that we here in south Wiltshire would like a solution to this mess. Soon!
Sadly, Wiltshire Council seem to be keen to play second fiddle to Somerset Council (who are really being proactive) - it's not that they are all talk and no action, there isn't even much talk from that bunch.
At the end of the day, success, or otherwise and the critique of history will determine who proved themselves and who were found wanting.
Thanks for your suggested routes. All of them and more besides need to be on the table this time around, as none - yours included - are ideal. Unless you go far enough south to join the route of the old A30, or far enough north to steer clear of Larkhill, Durrington and Bulford, you are going to hit archaeology, sites of special scientific interest and more besides. Two years of chaos would be a small price to pay for a sensible, affordable, consensus route that pleased the most and annoyed the least.
Dear Dr Strange. Love.
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