Something strange and unexpected has happened to me. It’s as unsettling as the moment in An American Werewolf in London when the main character transforms into a werewolf. It’s actually so awful that you may not want to read further.
It began when I read an article by Major General Patrick Cordingley questioning the need for the UK to have a nuclear deterrent. He argues that it is expensive and would need the consent of the US were we ever to want to use it. Good point, Patrick, and we could spend the money beefing up our armed forces with conventional weapons.
Then I read Italian Ways by Tim Parks. Better known as a novelist, Parks lives in Italy and has written this book about the Italian railways. In the 19th century the railways in Italy were built by companies expecting to make profits, in the same way that the Channel Tunnel was financed here and with the same results. In 1905 the government stepped in to nationalise the network and running costs rose (the unions were as powerful in Italy as our NUR) and ticket prices fell, burdening the Italian taxpayer for most of the 20th century. In the 1990s there was some half-hearted privatisation at the behest of the EU, leading to the present system. Inter-city trains are fast, modern and punctual while regional trains have old, crowded carriages; they are slow and often late. Do you recognise the similarity to the UK? Parks’ descriptions of his journeys are worthy of Dante’s Inferno.
Since 2000 the underground and buses in London have been run by TfL (Transport for London). Boris is justifiably proud of the investment being made and the improved service that is being delivered. Next step will be trains running all night and he has got his paintbrush out in anticipation.
TfL is a nationalised transport system and it works. Maybe the whole of the railway network should be nationalised? It is in Norway. No sooner had this occurred to me than I noticed this manhole cover that unashamedly wears its heart on its sleeve.
Cripes! I’m turning into Jeremy Corbyn. This is deeply disturbing and distressing for a card-carrying, lifelong Conservative and I can only hope that my condition does not get any worse and that I make a full recovery before the next election.