A better world is possible - Global Commons Institute

Copyright Bruce Nixon 2010. All rights reserved. This electronic copy is provided free for personal, non-commercial use only.
www.brucenixon.com
be electrified. All this could have a transforming effect on the Economy of UK by linking together our key
cities and regions. It would also link them cities to European cities. He gained cross- party support so that
these plans would be implemented whatever the result of the elections.
By rejuvenating great Victorian regional cities, the concentration of our economy on the South East and
London City may at last be broken. Perhaps the City will at last be doing the job of providing money for a
rejuvenation of our economy instead of creating money out of thin air for a small minority of mega rich! All
that unsustainable development of more housing in the overburdened South East may become unnecessary
and recognised as folly! Housing in the regions could be recognised as an asset requiring refurbishment
instead of demolition. This should mark the end of heavily polluting short haul air travel within UK and
Europe. £20bn, well spent, could partly be paid for by progressively heavily taxing short haul air travel and
abandoning plans for enlarging runways and motorways (Hutton, W, 2009).
It has to be said, however, that this comes shamefully late in the day and should have happened twenty
years ago. By 2025 Britain may have built 400 miles of high-speed rail, roughly what France will do in a year,
whereas Europe has 3,480 miles of railways on which trains can travel at 150 mph or more; 2,160 more miles
are under construction and another 5,280 are planned totalling 10,000. Meanwhile Britain has 68 miles. We
missed the opportunity thanks to lack of imagination, prejudice against rail and the success of the air lobby.
Lessons from New Labour
The only point of looking back is to learn. In response to the biggest crisis in human history there was a
failure of leadership. We were warned that UK would suffer severe power shortages unless bold action was
taken. There was no bold strategy. Inconsistent policies bewildered people and made them cynical. It was a
wasted opportunity. The nation’s attention was diverted, its resources and energy diverted by in war.
Government failed to enlist the nation in a great endeavour
Faced with the biggest environmental crisis in history, they failed to offer an inspiring vision and bold
strategy for our future
There were fundamental splits in government policy and inadequate plans, funding, regulations and
enforcement to back up targets
Our response compared unfavourably with other European countries
We were shamefully slow to invest in public transport improvements
Government frequently ignored its expert advisers
Many ministers ecologically ill - informed
Failure to see the competitive business advantage of investing in renewables - industry highly critical
of the inadequate and stop - go nature of Government support
Persistent bias towards Mega fixes rather than distributed localised solutions
Many ill - conceived schemes e.g. the car scrappage
Carbon trading schemes bungled: exploited to make profits and used dishonestly
Renewables Obligation Credits (ROCs) described as “deeply flawed”
Cautions
National and International Plans and “Hot Air”
I must declare that I am strongly opposed to the nuclear option, for reasons I shall explain later. I want to
write with honesty and integrity. It is essential to keep an open mind.
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