Thursday 30 September 2010

Sadiq says... at #Lab10

Eye salutes Shadow Transport Secretary Sadiq Khan!

His barnstorming speech today at the Labour Party conference had the Fact Compiler splitting his sides!

Take this for instance:

But talking shop with my family made sure that I never forgot the shambles of a transport system we inherited from the Tories in 1997.

That would be the shambles of a transport system that Labour promised to undo in its 1997 manifesto and then didn't?

The shambles that saw a unified railway industry disaggregated with a resulting explosion in cost most of which occurred during Labour's watch?

Or this for instance:

And in London, we saw what Labour leadership can mean – upgrades to the tube, electronic ticketing, bus services transformed, the congestion charge, and a deal for Crossrail, a scheme which will contribute billions to Britain's economy.

Who can forget the triumph of Gordon and Shriti's PPP? The splendid benefits of which Londoners continue to enjoy to this very day.

No doubt the meaning of Labour's leadership will be evident on London Underground for years to come.

Or what about this:

The value of investment in new trains.

So where, Sadi' baby, are those long promised 1,300 vehicles. We are still waiting... mostly in overcrowded carriages or on platforms due to short formed trains!

Or perhaps even this:

Passengers will not pay more for less.

So pray tell who was it that set the policy that said passengers should pay above inflationary increases to travel by train after years of RPI-1% under the evil Conservatives? That's right, your predecessor at the Department for Transport, Alastair Darling. And in return Passengers got less carriage space, less catering and train travel became a whole lot less pleasant.

No matter.

Sadiq signed off his oration with the following:

We'll win the next General Election if we show people a vision of a better fairer Britain that they can believe in.

Possibly, but don't expect that we'll believe any of those promises for one second! Once bitten, twice shy.