(13 Apr 2015, 12:48 pm)Malarkey wrote Received a Leaflet in the Post this morning from Sharon Hodgson encouraging us to Vote for Labour on May 7th.
Her Pledges on the back of the Leaflet are:
- Secure the future of our NHS by recruiting 36,000 more frontline staff and repealing the Health and Social Care Act.
- Balance the books fairly and cut the deficit every year, making the economy work for working people.
- Build more affordable homes and abolish the Bedroom Tax.
- Invest in our Transport Network, including extending the Metro to Washington.
- Control immigration with fair rules that benefit local people and businesses.
FFS - 4 of the 5 are outside of her control, are Labour Party policy, and are national issues. This really grinds on me, as candidates should dedicate their re-election pledges to what they'll do locally. There's plenty of room inside the leaflet about what Labour will do.
My Labour candidate - Roberta Blackman-Woods (City of Durham) has similar:
- Work hard to bring jobs and apprenticeships, including for young people, to Durham.
- Make work pay by pressing for a rise in the minimum wage and ending the use of exploitative zero hour contracts.
- Tackle the cost of living crisis by freezing gas and electricity bills to 2017.
- Fight to secure the future of our NHS for you and your family and seek improvements in health and social care services locally.
- Campaign to protect Durham's wonderful heritage and achieve a better quality environment, including appropriate housing for future generations.
(13 Apr 2015, 3:00 pm)Andreos1 wrote There is a lot more to re-opening the Leamside Line than Nissan.
It instantly opens up space on the ECML and Durham Coast line as a start, gives communities left without a rail link since the closure to passengers in the 60's links to the national network, whilst offering the chance to re-invigorate those areas at the same time.
It will potentially reduce congestion and pollution on the roads too.
If the link from South Hylton is extended towards Penshaw, then with Nexus owning that section, any heavy rail accessing it, will pay a levy, which will then go into the public purse.
Network Rail viability reports/studies relating to the Leamside Line are available to view online and make interesting reading.
I think that the initial costs in rebuilding the infrastructure may be high and I am not sure about the practicalities it extending it to the Galleries, but the benefits will be felt far and wide.
Too right. There are more reasons to reopen it than there is to keep it closed. It's as if Network Rail, Nexus and possibly even Nissan, are all waiting to see who caves in first, with regards to funding the scheme!
(13 Apr 2015, 3:11 pm)MrFozz wrote I thought Network Rail owned the stretch of line to South Hylton or is it only bit between Sunderland and Pelaw Junction NR owns...
I remember quite a few years ago reading a suggestion by someone which pretty much said, turn Sunderland Station-Pelaw over to Nexus completely and convert Park Lane and whatever land is around it to heavy rail running mainline services to Newcastle via the northern end of the Leamside Line, and run all Durham Coast Trains through Park Lane, another suggestion I have seen was a Sunderland/Washington Loop like the present Yellow Line...If only I could remember where I read this I woulda shared
Network Rail own the stretch of line between the viaduct and South Hylton, and the entire Leamside line between Pelaw Junction and Tursdale.
A second loop from Pelaw around Sunderland and Washington would be the best option, and it would only a slight adjustment to the track layout south of the viaduct, to connect with South Hylton.