That means an unelected PM is selling a public asset at a loss to prevent a future elected PM from reversing his decision.
  •  theinspectorst   ( @theinspectorst@kbin.social ) 
    42•11 months ago

    This is a scorched earth approach to politics - if the Tories don’t get to rule Britain, no-one does. It’s not just Rishi saying he can’t afford to do HS2 now, it’s him saying that if a future government is able to find the money, he doesn’t want them to be able to do it out of pure spite.

    This decision is a microcosm of why these people are unfit to govern.

  •  hanni   ( @hanni@lemmy.one ) 
    32•11 months ago

    Sir John Armitt, chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission, said opting to sell the land was a “mistake”,

    I hate it when malice is interpreted as incompetence. It’s not a mistake; they know exactly what they are doing.

    •  apis   ( @apis@beehaw.org ) English
      7•11 months ago

      In this instance, almost of it will be sold to the famers from whom it was originally purchased.

      So though no longer having a planned train line through their land would restore the value of their farms, I don’t know that it counts as enriching Tory mates.

      A lot of farmers do vote Tory, but many do not, and those who were forced to sell land to the state for HS2 by the Tories probably don’t.

      So it truly is only to stymie future governments.