Long-suffering travellers in the North of England are right to be angry about the Government’s Integrated Rail Plan.
They were sold the promise of a first-class service only to be handed the equivalent of a second-class ticket on a rail replacement bus.
Boris Johnson made a manifesto promise to extend HS2 from Birmingham to Leeds and to deliver a high-speed line across the Pennines.
Both these routes were crucial to improving journey times and boosting regional economies. Neither is now going ahead as planned.
While some of the measures announced are welcome, they fall far short of what is necessary and of what the PM pledged.
The failure to deliver for the North makes a mockery of his levelling up agenda and underlines how this is a government that is incapable of meeting its grandiose promises.
Mr Johnson has betrayed the North and betrayed people’s trust.
QATAR SHAME
THIS time next year the World Cup will kick off in Qatar.
As we report today, the decision to allow the Gulf State to host the beautiful game comes at an ugly price.
Migrant workers claim they are treated as slaves and forced to live in “labour camps”. It is estimated that more than 6,500 have died since Qatar was chosen as host in 2010.
The country also has a terrible human rights record and still outlaws homosexuality.
We wish the England team well – and Wales and Scotland if they make it – but it is scandal they should be forced to compete in a country unworthy of staging this tournament.
DEFIBS SO VITAL
Footballer Fabrice Muamba knows better than anyone the importance of speedy treatment when you suffer a heart attack.
So he speaks with authority when he calls for defibrillators to become as common as fire extinguishers.
Installing this vital equipment in all public buildings would be a real life-saver.
