June 2: Yorkshire left in HS2 limbo

NOT for the first time, a Government Minister came to Yorkshire yesterday amid high expectations that he would deliver an announcement that would kickstart genuinely transformative change for the region, only to disappoint.Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin’s visit to Leeds was an opportunity to re-affirm the Government’s commitment to closing the prosperity gap between North and South through its approach to the development of the high-speed rail link between Yorkshire and London.

Yet though he repeated David Cameron’s pre-election pledge to look at ways of delivering the Yorkshire section of the line earlier, the lack of a firm commitment to giving priority to construction 
of the route between Leeds and Sheffield was a source of further frustration.

Mr McLoughlin’s claim that the argument for HS2 has been won was spurious to say the least. Given the almost complete absence of the issue from the pre-election debate, Mr Cameron’s unexpected victory cannot be read as a resounding vote in favour of the project.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Nevertheless, hearts and minds are there to be won if actions confirmed in sceptics’ minds the Government’s determination to use high-speed rail as a mechanism for delivering the much-vaunted Northern Powerhouse.

Time is of the essence, 
yet rather than providing the clear timetable many had hoped for, the Transport Secretary promised only that key decisions would be taken this autumn. This dawdling over detail does nothing to further HS2’s case in the region and once again leaves Yorkshire and its major cities in a state of limbo – not to mention those whose homes and businesses stand to be affected.

Childcare dilemma

The “nanny state” in action?

THERE is no little irony in the fact that Conservative ideology has long been diametrically opposed to the imposition of a so-called “nanny state” – and yet that is, quite literally, what a Tory government is now seeking to create.

The doubling of the amount of free childcare for three and four-year-olds to 30 hours a week is guaranteed to both enrage and delight depending on individuals’ personal circumstances.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Working parents will appreciate the boost to their family finances and welcome the freedom for both parents to now pursue full-time work. The Government also stands to gain in the form of increased tax revenue and a reduced reliance on state benefits.

Those without children, however, will have every right to question why their taxes should fund the care of other people’s children. Their disgruntlement is far from the only headache, with the Government

facing a battle to win over childcare providers who warn that the plans are likely to spark a “meltdown” within the sector if they are not accompanied by greater levels of state funding.

The more fundamental question that should be asked, however, is whether more time apart from

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

their parents is really beneficial for the children concerned.

While the Government will argue that having both parents in work will enable more families to get a foot on the property ladder, it is the failure of successive governments to address the housing shortage that has created this problem by fuelling the market to the point where this is necessary.

A short-term filip for families, time will tell whether society ends up paying a far greater cost over the longer term.

Forgotten farmers

Public’s ignorance of industry

FARMERS face a double-edged challenge. Not only do they feel a duty, as Dorothy Fairburn of the Country Land and Business Association explains on the opposite page, to act as custodians of the land, but they must also incorporate the modern working practices necessary in order to thrive – and survive – in today’s highly-pressured business market.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Yet this adaptability that requires farmers to have one foot in the past and the other very much in the present is not appreciated by the general public. A survey has found consumers’ perceptions of British farming to be decades out of date, with long-held stereotypes holding sway. One in seven people even admit they get their farming knowledge from Emmerdale.

This would be a source of some amusement, were it not for the fact that this ignorance of the dedication, skill and forward thinking of the farming community too often results in producers receiving a raw deal at the hands of everyone from major supermarket chains to the government of the day.