Star comment: Roads bid could lead to growth
It's been described as Britain's biggest roads programme for decades. But then that's exactly what Mrs Thatcher called her own roads programme back in the 1980s, when she pledged to build more roads than at any time since the Romans.
And we all remember what happened – or, rather – what didn't happen back then. The nation's infrastructure is high on the Government's agenda and Chancellor George Osborne plans to spend £15 million on a roads revolution that will lead to the creation of 1,300 miles of extra lanes.
Here in the Midlands, there will be improvements to the M42. That follows a previously-announced scheme to link the M54 to the M6 Toll, which goes out to consultation on Friday for eight weeks.
It is perhaps no coincidence that the announcement has been made with a General Election just around the corner. Nor is it particularly surprising that the Government has also announced a £2 billion budget-filler to the cash-starved NHS.
It has fared poorly in recent by-elections and the country seems on course for a very closely fought 2015 General Election. We can be sure that political parties will use every trick in the book to win new votes.
The plans are detailed as part of the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, which will be announced in full tomorrow. It is to be hoped that his plans don't go the same way as those unveiled by Mrs Thatcher. The idea that under her leadership Britain created more roads than anyone since the Romans is fanciful. Road building schemes are notoriously easy to kick into the long grass once an election has passed or once budgets have run dry.
But putting aside cynicism for a moment, it is worth exploring what might happen if the Government's plans actually do go ahead.
Will building more roads improve our economy or lead to more misery for motorists? And will spending all of this money in the name of progress actually improve the nation's productivity?Alleviating traffic congestion at Point A very often moves the same congestion to Point B, further down the road.
The hope, of course, is that the Government is continuing to fix the economy and can therefore invest in our future, unlocking jobs and local growth along the way. Those are laudable ideas, but many will reserve judgement until that actually happens.
