• Home
  • Privacy Policy
  • Editorial Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Web Stories
Thursday, August 7, 2025
London Journal | The Voice of London
  • Home
  • Politics
    BBC bosses haven’t done enough to prevent another Bob Vylan scandal happening again, Culture Secretary blasts

    BBC bosses haven’t done enough to prevent another Bob Vylan scandal happening again, Culture Secretary blasts

    Our prisons HELP inmates be better criminals… we’re a laughing stock, slams ex governor turned Farage’s justice tsar

    Our prisons HELP inmates be better criminals… we’re a laughing stock, slams ex governor turned Farage’s justice tsar

    Almost one million NHS ‘free passes’ handed out to asylum seekers

    Almost one million NHS ‘free passes’ handed out to asylum seekers

    Labour-backing Gary Neville slams Rachel Reeves over crippling tax hikes on businesses

    Labour-backing Gary Neville slams Rachel Reeves over crippling tax hikes on businesses

    Trending Tags

    • Business
      • All
      • Digital Marketing
      • Real Estate
      US news giants grow revenue despite AI-driven turmoil

      US news giants grow revenue despite AI-driven turmoil

      Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc) says premium ads up as programmatic declines

      Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc) says premium ads up as programmatic declines

      GB News marks milestone on mission to be biggest TV news channel in UK by 2028

      GB News marks milestone on mission to be biggest TV news channel in UK by 2028

      Ipswich local news site launches seed funding round after first year

      Ipswich local news site launches seed funding round after first year

      Trending Tags

      • Tech
        Hunky tarantulas now growing GIANT record-breaking sex organs & mega ‘palp’ saves them from being gobbled by lusty mate

        Hunky tarantulas now growing GIANT record-breaking sex organs & mega ‘palp’ saves them from being gobbled by lusty mate

        Archaeologists uncover 800-year-old bones with strange details & they offer a surprising insight into Aztec life

        Archaeologists uncover 800-year-old bones with strange details & they offer a surprising insight into Aztec life

        Mysterious ‘anomaly’ that may reveal ‘hidden portal’ buried for millennia is uncovered just beneath Pharaoh’s tombs

        Mysterious ‘anomaly’ that may reveal ‘hidden portal’ buried for millennia is uncovered just beneath Pharaoh’s tombs

        Nest of radioactive WASPS found at nuclear site by officials

        Nest of radioactive WASPS found at nuclear site by officials

        Mysteries of 2,300-year-old mummy Bashiri ‘The Untouchable’ revealed after researchers refused to unwrap ancient fabric

        Mysteries of 2,300-year-old mummy Bashiri ‘The Untouchable’ revealed after researchers refused to unwrap ancient fabric

        Remarkable glow in the dark creature captured on camera in the wild ‘for first time’ as it lights up in a neon blue

        Remarkable glow in the dark creature captured on camera in the wild ‘for first time’ as it lights up in a neon blue

      • Health
      • Science

        We’ve probably already been discovered by aliens, but they have some pretty good reasons to hide.

        Almost everyone is said to benefit from a scientifically supported method for improving sleep.

        2,500-year-old rock engravings were found near Mosul, Iraq.

        Is the soul of a person eternal? the findings of scientists

        With its most recent move, is General Electric abandoning wind power?

      • Crypto
      • Entertainment
        • All
        • Gaming
        • Sports
        Tiger Woods’ son Charlie takes huge step towards sealing Junior Ryder Cup spot on Team USA

        Tiger Woods’ son Charlie takes huge step towards sealing Junior Ryder Cup spot on Team USA

        Conor McGregor issues four-word statement after taking biggest step yet to UFC return

        Conor McGregor issues four-word statement after taking biggest step yet to UFC return

        Ellie Scotney reveals promise she made to late friend Georgia O’Connor before emotional world title win

        Ellie Scotney reveals promise she made to late friend Georgia O’Connor before emotional world title win

        The secret underground tunnel where Open golfers hide from thunderstorms but only certain stars can use it at Portrush

        The secret underground tunnel where Open golfers hide from thunderstorms but only certain stars can use it at Portrush

        Jon Jones performs retirement U-turn and announces return to UFC testing pool after Dana White lying claims

        Jon Jones performs retirement U-turn and announces return to UFC testing pool after Dana White lying claims

      • Lifestyle
        • All
        • Fashion
        • food
        • Home improvement
        • Travel
        A Site for Situated Practices: Mezzanine

        Exhibition: Substance & Recoding: The Narrative of Contemporary Objects in the Semantic Turn

        Discover Amsterdam’s beauty from the water

        An adventure on the canals of Amsterdam

        An adventure on the canals of Amsterdam

        Eromosele Gideon Eigbiremolen Unveils Sustainable Vision for SS24 with Burvain's Latest Collection.

        Eromosele Gideon Eigbiremolen Unveils Sustainable Vision for SS24 with Burvain’s Latest Collection.

        after builders cleaning

        After Builders Cleaning Services in UK with Cliffycox: Reviving Spaces, Redefining Cleanliness

        Creating an Oasis Deponti Glass Room Products and Maze Outdoor Kitchens

        Creating an Oasis: Deponti Glass Room Products and Maze Outdoor Kitchens

      • Travel
      • Real Estate
      • Sports
      • More
        • Press Release
      No Result
      View All Result
      • Home
      • Politics
        BBC bosses haven’t done enough to prevent another Bob Vylan scandal happening again, Culture Secretary blasts

        BBC bosses haven’t done enough to prevent another Bob Vylan scandal happening again, Culture Secretary blasts

        Our prisons HELP inmates be better criminals… we’re a laughing stock, slams ex governor turned Farage’s justice tsar

        Our prisons HELP inmates be better criminals… we’re a laughing stock, slams ex governor turned Farage’s justice tsar

        Almost one million NHS ‘free passes’ handed out to asylum seekers

        Almost one million NHS ‘free passes’ handed out to asylum seekers

        Labour-backing Gary Neville slams Rachel Reeves over crippling tax hikes on businesses

        Labour-backing Gary Neville slams Rachel Reeves over crippling tax hikes on businesses

        Trending Tags

        • Business
          • All
          • Digital Marketing
          • Real Estate
          US news giants grow revenue despite AI-driven turmoil

          US news giants grow revenue despite AI-driven turmoil

          Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc) says premium ads up as programmatic declines

          Dotdash Meredith (now People Inc) says premium ads up as programmatic declines

          GB News marks milestone on mission to be biggest TV news channel in UK by 2028

          GB News marks milestone on mission to be biggest TV news channel in UK by 2028

          Ipswich local news site launches seed funding round after first year

          Ipswich local news site launches seed funding round after first year

          Trending Tags

          • Tech
            Hunky tarantulas now growing GIANT record-breaking sex organs & mega ‘palp’ saves them from being gobbled by lusty mate

            Hunky tarantulas now growing GIANT record-breaking sex organs & mega ‘palp’ saves them from being gobbled by lusty mate

            Archaeologists uncover 800-year-old bones with strange details & they offer a surprising insight into Aztec life

            Archaeologists uncover 800-year-old bones with strange details & they offer a surprising insight into Aztec life

            Mysterious ‘anomaly’ that may reveal ‘hidden portal’ buried for millennia is uncovered just beneath Pharaoh’s tombs

            Mysterious ‘anomaly’ that may reveal ‘hidden portal’ buried for millennia is uncovered just beneath Pharaoh’s tombs

            Nest of radioactive WASPS found at nuclear site by officials

            Nest of radioactive WASPS found at nuclear site by officials

            Mysteries of 2,300-year-old mummy Bashiri ‘The Untouchable’ revealed after researchers refused to unwrap ancient fabric

            Mysteries of 2,300-year-old mummy Bashiri ‘The Untouchable’ revealed after researchers refused to unwrap ancient fabric

            Remarkable glow in the dark creature captured on camera in the wild ‘for first time’ as it lights up in a neon blue

            Remarkable glow in the dark creature captured on camera in the wild ‘for first time’ as it lights up in a neon blue

          • Health
          • Science

            We’ve probably already been discovered by aliens, but they have some pretty good reasons to hide.

            Almost everyone is said to benefit from a scientifically supported method for improving sleep.

            2,500-year-old rock engravings were found near Mosul, Iraq.

            Is the soul of a person eternal? the findings of scientists

            With its most recent move, is General Electric abandoning wind power?

          • Crypto
          • Entertainment
            • All
            • Gaming
            • Sports
            Tiger Woods’ son Charlie takes huge step towards sealing Junior Ryder Cup spot on Team USA

            Tiger Woods’ son Charlie takes huge step towards sealing Junior Ryder Cup spot on Team USA

            Conor McGregor issues four-word statement after taking biggest step yet to UFC return

            Conor McGregor issues four-word statement after taking biggest step yet to UFC return

            Ellie Scotney reveals promise she made to late friend Georgia O’Connor before emotional world title win

            Ellie Scotney reveals promise she made to late friend Georgia O’Connor before emotional world title win

            The secret underground tunnel where Open golfers hide from thunderstorms but only certain stars can use it at Portrush

            The secret underground tunnel where Open golfers hide from thunderstorms but only certain stars can use it at Portrush

            Jon Jones performs retirement U-turn and announces return to UFC testing pool after Dana White lying claims

            Jon Jones performs retirement U-turn and announces return to UFC testing pool after Dana White lying claims

          • Lifestyle
            • All
            • Fashion
            • food
            • Home improvement
            • Travel
            A Site for Situated Practices: Mezzanine

            Exhibition: Substance & Recoding: The Narrative of Contemporary Objects in the Semantic Turn

            Discover Amsterdam’s beauty from the water

            An adventure on the canals of Amsterdam

            An adventure on the canals of Amsterdam

            Eromosele Gideon Eigbiremolen Unveils Sustainable Vision for SS24 with Burvain's Latest Collection.

            Eromosele Gideon Eigbiremolen Unveils Sustainable Vision for SS24 with Burvain’s Latest Collection.

            after builders cleaning

            After Builders Cleaning Services in UK with Cliffycox: Reviving Spaces, Redefining Cleanliness

            Creating an Oasis Deponti Glass Room Products and Maze Outdoor Kitchens

            Creating an Oasis: Deponti Glass Room Products and Maze Outdoor Kitchens

          • Travel
          • Real Estate
          • Sports
          • More
            • Press Release
          No Result
          View All Result
          London Journal | The Voice of London
          No Result
          View All Result

          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?

          by Anderson
          March 9, 2024
          in Opinion
          0
          SHARES
          Share on FacebookShare on TwitterLinkedin

          THE punctuality of trains is taken ­seriously in Japan.

          In 2017, the company which manages the express line between the capital Tokyo and the city of Tsukuba issued a formal apology when one of its trains left 20 ­seconds early.

          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          Britain’s railways face delays with such frequent regularity that it has become expected
          PA

          Similarly, in 2021 a driver was fined for turning up one minute late at the platform to take an empty train to Okayama station.

          To most of us in Britain, immersed in a transport culture of chronic delays and institutionalised unreliability, these two incidents seem almost surreal.

          In parts of our network, restricting lateness to just one minute would be a cause for celebration rather than reprimand.

          If our operators had to apologise for every 20-second deviation from the ­scheduled timetable, the station loud-speakers would never be silent.

          The inadequacy of our railways was exposed again yesterday by official figures which revealed that more than 1,000 trains are being cancelled every day — a rise of 54 per cent on the middle months of 2023.

          Deeper malaise

          At Northern, one of the worst offenders, the average daily rate of withdrawn ­services is a shocking 170, compared to 140 between April and November last year.

          Even the most high-profile routes are gripped by the inability to fulfil their commitments.

          Avanti, the flagship operator of the West Coast mainline, is cancelling 31 trains a day on average, compared to 13 in the middle of last year.

          A host of different factors are held responsible for this breakdown in efficiency.

          Predictably, the unions, campaigners and left-wing politicians blame under-funding, even though massive subsidies continue to be poured into the network and fares have just risen by 4.9 per cent.

          Others point to ageing rolling stock — which means that around 2,600 trains will be at least 35 years old by 2030 — a huge backlog of repairs, and the ravenous appetite of the flawed HS2 project which has swallowed vast sums that could have been used for improvements elsewhere.

          But there is a deeper malaise at work here, for the railways are hardly unique in their failings.

          The truth is that so much of the civic infrastructure no longer works in modern Britain.

          Our roads have become hopelessly congested, unable to cope with demand and riddled with potholes.

          Yesterday, a new study indicated that average traffic speeds on our streets are at their slowest for a decade, partly because of the disruption caused by repairs.

          Between 2022 and 2023, no fewer than 2.2million street and roadworks were ­carried out in England, while the time spent by motorists in traffic jams has risen by five per cent already this year.
          It is the same story on so many other fronts.

          It is outrageous that half of our young people now go to university yet there are such skills shortages in engineering, manufacturing and transport.


          Leo McKinstry

          We once had among the best-equipped armed forces in the world, but that ­reputation has been shattered by fiascos such as the failure of the Ajax armoured ­vehicle and the endless breakdowns in our two new aircraft carriers, built at a cost of £7billion.

          Too many of our schools are crumbling because of poor build quality, our water companies pump sewage into our rivers, our airports lag behind Asia in quality and innovation, while technology in the NHS and the immigration service is ­hopelessly outdated — a prime reason why we have long hospital waiting lists and porous borders.

          Britain used to be the workshop of the world.

          We pioneered the industrial revolution and led the creation of the railways.

          It was the British genius for invention that helped create the telephone, the ­television and the jet engine.

          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          Regular roadworks represent Britain’s creaking infrastructure with streets littered with potholes
          Getty

          Yet that dynamism seems to have ­evaporated completely as we sink into a quagmire of ineptitude and inertia. So what has gone wrong?

          One problem is the crippling absence of firm political and democratic leadership.

          Anxious to avoid blame, our politicians have shuffled off the responsibility for running much of the country to unelected quangos, such as the Highways Agency for our roads and Network Rail for trains.

          Devoid of any commercial pressures or accountability at the ballot box, the senior staff at these bodies have proved adept at feathering their own nests, but far less successful at meeting the needs of the long-suffering public.

          Andrew Haines, the chief executive of Network Rail was, according to its annual report, earning £589,000 last year, while Nick Harris, the head of the Highways Agency, was on £384,649, up from £355,000 — though it is hard to see what justified this huge rise.

          Like so much of the public sector, these outfits are obsessed with promoting the fashionable woke creed.

          Culture of division

          “We’ve introduced inclusive leadership training for all our line managers” and are “growing our network of diversity and inclusion champions across all our teams,” boasts the Highways Agency.

          It is a pity the same energy was not focused on presiding effectively over the road network.

          The fixation with the inclusion dogma, far from building a harmonious, innovative workforce, actually feeds a culture of ­division, resentment and grievance, which helps to explain why so much of the ­public sector has low productivity, reflected in endless strikes and excessive sick leave.

          In addition, our education system does not place anything like enough emphasis on practical and technical skills.

          It is outrageous that half of our young people now go to university yet there are such skills shortages in engineering, manufacturing and transport.

          Modern corporate Britain prizes the right opinions above creativity and innovation.

          Feather-bedded by welfare, constantly told we are in the midst of a mental health crisis, we are also losing the work ethic that once built our civilisation.

          Only if we change such attitudes, and rediscover our resilience and ambition, will our nation move out of the slow lane.

          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          The NHS is struggling with long waiting lists and striking staff
          Alamy
          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          The military has also been embarrassed by the breakdown of expensive new equipment
          Alamy
          From railways and roads to schools and hospitals… why does NOTHING in Britain work?
          High streets are suffering across the country with many banks now boarded up
          Shutterstock

          Source link

          Recent News

          US news giants grow revenue despite AI-driven turmoil

          US news giants grow revenue despite AI-driven turmoil

          August 7, 2025
          Coinplex — The Power of Technology and Responsibility Together

          Coinplex — The Power of Technology and Responsibility Together

          August 6, 2025
          Hunky tarantulas now growing GIANT record-breaking sex organs & mega ‘palp’ saves them from being gobbled by lusty mate

          Hunky tarantulas now growing GIANT record-breaking sex organs & mega ‘palp’ saves them from being gobbled by lusty mate

          August 6, 2025
          ICC Rule Book EP 15: A unique cricket rule to stop innings in the current match

          ICC Rule Book EP 15: A unique cricket rule to stop innings in the current match

          August 6, 2025
          A big blow to RCB player in rape case, High Court refuses to arrest arrest

          A big blow to RCB player in rape case, High Court refuses to arrest arrest

          August 6, 2025
          Done work .. Trump's reply to the tariff threat, Russia has a friendship with India, know what finally happened?

          Done work .. Trump's reply to the tariff threat, Russia has a friendship with India, know what finally happened?

          August 6, 2025
          What the FCA consultation means for eligibility on motor finance payouts

          What the FCA consultation means for eligibility on motor finance payouts

          August 6, 2025
          • Home
          • Privacy Policy
          • Editorial Policy
          • About Us
          • Contribute
          • Advertise with us
          • Contact Us

          All Rights Reserved © 2022 London Journal - Voice of London

          No Result
          View All Result
          • Home
          • Politics
          • World
          • Business
          • Science
          • Crypto
          • Entertainment
          • Gaming
          • Opinion
          • Sports
          • Fashion
          • Lifestyle
          • Travel
          • Tech
          • Health
          • Food

          All Rights Reserved © 2022 London Journal - Voice of London