.comment-link {margin-left:.6em;}

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Investing in the future

The UK Coalition's austerity programme has come under a lot of criticism especially from the Labour Party, who ahve now admitted that they would have done exactly the same thing. Like others my main concern has been the need to get capital investment going so as to create jobs.

I am delighted therefore at the announcement by Danny Alexander today of a £1 billion programme of investment, including a new prison in North Wales that will do exactly that. He is proposing that the first £50bn is committed to infrastructure projects starting in 2015-16, with the rest earmarked for the period from 2016 to 2020.

The main funding commitments include:
Some of this is England only of course but there has also been a real term increase in capital funding for the Welsh Government for 2015-16. About time too.
Comments:
So zip for funding patent filings at university level? Oh well - another decade of 'giving away our crown jewels' - when will the penny finally drop that if 'you don't patent it' then any Tom, Richard, Harry can copy, sell, manufacture otherwise patentable discoveries. Not all discoveries are patentable - but if we don't file patent applications - WE WON'T KNOW until 'after the fact'. The Welsh economy is not just at the bottom of the economic league tables - it is BEHIND FORMER THIRD WORLD STATES. Meanwhile, Welsh folks with hard skills who want to work in the private sector will be further obliged to leave Wales in search of decent jobs. It is just not drift, but 'the longest Welsh suicide note in HISTORY'. cw
 
I'm gutted about the M4. Improve existing roads, sure, but how are we building new motorways in the 21st century?
 
Stop spinning Peter. There is no extra money as most objective commentators quite rightly point out. How anyone can see a prison as 'investing in the future' is baffling. Perhaps you could also explain why Scotland gets a 2.7% increase in capital spend, Northern Ireland 1.5% and Wales 0.3%?
 
Post a Comment



<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?