Saturday 17 May 2014

Does "A Degree Of Success" Amount To Abject Failure?

On Thursday, the Western Morning News ran a story on comments from Roads Minister, Robert Goodwill under the headline: "Minister promises 'success' in A303 funding campaign."  The same story ran in the Western Daily Press yesterday and this was featured in our sister blog STAG Stonehenge Traffic Action Group.   But was the story really such good news?

What Robert Goodwill seems to have actually said, in response to a question specifically about funding for the A47 improvement plan was:

"I should like to make it clear that this is not a competition in which there can only be one winner,"

"I hazard to suggest that there will be a degree of success in all six areas that we have identified."

OK, so he is merely suggesting that all 6 schemes might have a degree of success - at best maybe an unsubtle hint, at worst a face-saving expedient to give the impression of substance where in reality, there is only a wisp of smoke.

Even if he is correct, what benefit is a "degree of success?"  I would argue very little, four-fifths of bugger-all, not a lot, nothing of any real value. 

Why?  Well, isn't it obvious?   Simply improving a few bits of the A303/A358/A30 isn't anything more than window-dressing - it might make a bit of the road look prettier, but isn't going to have any major impact on journey times along the whole length of the road.  In fact, a "degree of success" is probably a more PC way to describe an abject failure. 

My fear is that this is the first stage of a British government saying, yet again, that they haven't the collective wit, wisdom, or motivation to solve the problem of getting the A303 past Stonehenge and the Blackdown Hills.

Never forget:






"Under every stone lurks a politician!"
                              Aristophanes
                            


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