How to fix Britain’s infrastructure | Andy Burnham

[@extrude22]

I like Andy but he is wrong about leaves on the line. That is a potentially fatal problem which prevents trains from being able to stop.

[@jonathancarless8496]

People sort of laugh and bemoan at leaves on the line but you try and walk on wet, compacted leaves, they’re slippery. It’s much worse for a train as they are travelling much faster and they do contribute to crashes.

[@thomasthornton2002]

There’s a reason that network rail spends a fortune on maintaining a fleet of trains to clear leaves, if you want to see what happens when they don’t get cleared look at the Salisbury clash a few years ago

[@AndyBradfordMusician]

He is saying 'f... off ' to the rest of the country; we are alright thank you; we will take from the rest of the working people so that we get what we want up here! Never mind the rural , farming or urban communities ; as a City we are just doing fine! We can take more money from the older folks and they can cope somehow without their Allowances & Free Bus Passes, Free TV Licences and other help with housing and so on. We can get them paying more Stamp Duty & Inheritance Tax and raid their Pensions to pay for 'our' Infrastructure! 😁😀

[@markjones3210]

Good interview! Burnham is a lot more impressive as Mayor than he was as an MP. It is natural to want more money and more devolved powers.

[@alphabetaxenonzzzcat]

Spend more money on it - er - where does that come from? Answer = more taxes or money printing. This is a childlike debate on the problems of the UK's infrastructure.

[@Nathann99]

But if we increase capacity surely that increases revenues and speeds

[@vincentblack7467]

He's gaslighting us or deluded...!!

[@simonpapworth8974]

The fuel duty was probably kept in order to at least throw people who DON'T live in cities some kind of bone. Significant elements of the rest of budget are set to bring hardship and loss to more rural localities and smaller conurbations - where there are very persistent and pronounced pockets of deprivation. In such localities the low population density and diverse usage patterns of public transport means that it would require huge amounts of public subsidy to sustain it - regardless of whether a local authority or anyone was running it.....I've lived in both large cities and rural locations - in the former the car is typically a luxury, in the latter it is a vital necessity, neither of these two appear capable or willing to grasp this simplest of nettles.

[@simonpapworth8974]

Is he aware that when framing policy, the government needs to consider that there are places in the UK - other than Mancheste? Maybe that's too much nuance.....

[@Chris-lr2qb]

Which comment specifically do you disagree with?

[@richardbennett7119]

I think they was all doing lines coming up with this budget

[@TimComley]

Were not was

[@krob2327]

He’s a freemason??? ……. He’s beholden to unions. And whilst health Secretary said the nhs pr was more important than dead patients families asking questions

[@georgethompson453]

How many Labour governments have we had since that Victorian infrastructure was built?

[@janeknight3597]

The most important change would have been HS2 - that was cancelled by a conservative government. Infrastructure takes a long time to put in place - even the great Isambard had trouble with his investors.

[@ianfraser6161]

I hope Andy is the next Labour leader.

[@vincentblack7467]

My opinion labour will not get another chance most of us hate them more than the tories, hard to believe but true..