Council leader and MP clash over £150million junction improvement scheme (From Thurrock Gazette)
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Council leader: £150million junction improvement scheme is "cheap short-term fix”
12:03pm Thursday 6th December 2012 in News
THURROCK Council’s leader John Kent said he is “disappointed” at the amount of money the Government wants to spend on upgrading the M25 in Thurrock.
Chancellor George Osborne announced yesterday that more than £150million will be spent on improvements at junction 30, just north of the Dartford Crossing, in a bid to ease the near-constant congestion caused by the bridge, Lakeside Shopping Centre, and the Port of Tilbury.
The scheme is one of four nationally, which the Government is spending a total of £1billion on.
Work in Thurrock is expected to start in 2015.
Cllr Kent branded the £150million a “cheap short-term fix.”
He said: “I really doubt that £150 million is anywhere near enough to get a proper solution to the congestion we suffer day in and day out because of the problems with Junction 30.
“Given the state of economy we must make sure we get the improvements right first time - and right now with the full scheme, otherwise business will suffer.
“Not just Thurrock businesses, but Great Britain plc as so much of our nation’s commerce flows through Thurrock.
“We don't want a 'cheap' short-term fix and then have to come back later, we need the real deal, now.”
Conservative MP Jackie Doyle-Price called John Kent’s reaction to the news “partisan”.
She said: “ “The chancellor has done exactly what the labour leader's motion in council asked for last week.
“He should be thanking the Government for this crucial investment.
“His response is disappointingly partisan.
“If he was a bigger man he would give credit where credit is due instead of trying to play politics.”
She added: “At £150million this is the most expensive junction improvement scheme ever.
“By comparison it is three times what has been spent at Sadlers Farm.
“Make no mistake, this is a serious project, it fulfils what business across south Essex has been calling out for.
“Labour had thirteen years to sort out road infrastructure and did nothing.
“We will not duck the challenge of making our road infrastructure fit to support our economy in the 21st century.
“Happy Christmas John, do yourself a favour and take a lesson from Scrooge, far from humbug this is good news - share in the goodwill.”
Comments(17)
Thurrock Trojan
says...
5:07pm Thu 6 Dec 12
We were promised the tolls would be scrapped once crossing was paid for.
There is nothing stopping Jackie Doyle Price and her Tory colleagues in East Thurrock and Dartford getting together and petitioning for the tolls to be scrapped. Rather than take this course of action, the three of them have sat on their backsides and allowed this rotten Governent to increase toll charges.
Jackie Doyle Price and Stephen Metcalfe have been Thurrock MPs for almost three years and have done absolutely nothing for their constituents. They're more interested in having their pictures taken so they can be splashed out on the front of the Gazette and Basildon Echo. That's when they're not blaming everything on the last Labour government.
This government is screwing our economy and making lives unbearable for millions of people. They need to get their own house in order and sack George Osborne, who is the most incompetent Chancellor in British history.
Rather than help the people of Thurrock, many of whom who are struggling financially at the hands of this Government, Jackie Doyle Price and Stephen Metcalfe have the audacity to ask us to feel sorry for the bankers who caused the current global economic mess. They also voted to increase fuel prices by 3p in January.
Jackie Doyle Price and Stephen Metcalfe are completely out of touch with their Thurrock constituents and will undoubtedly be kicked out in the next election along with this shambles of a government.
ebagumtrebor
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9:21am Fri 7 Dec 12
ebagumtrebor
says...
9:22am Fri 7 Dec 12
Bernard 87
says...
11:17am Fri 7 Dec 12
Miliband would continue in the footsteps of Gordon Brown while Ed Balls will send us backwards economically. Even the most simple minded people struggle to understand the concept of borrowing more to cut the deficit.
One thing I do agree with Thurrock Trojan on is the need for all local MPs, council leaders, councillors and residents say from Thurrock, Dartford, Bexley, Havering etc to get together and push for this government to scrap the tolls altogether.
Thurrock Trojan
says...
4:36pm Fri 7 Dec 12
ebagumtrebor wrote:Let's take a look at the current shambles we have in power:
Mass immigration, minimum wage, doubling of the wlefare state, allowing banks to lend ridiculous amounts of money, £500 billion additional debt, a generation of children not able to have their own homes, bail out of the banks. We could go on. Total Labour failure as per usual. No admission of failure from the current Labour leadership that were the then advisers to the two worst prime ministers and definitley the worst chancellor in the history of this government. Still denail over mass immigration. They failed then and they will fail again. But then failure to Labour is actually partial success in achieveing the marxist state they wish to turn this country into. Remember 1979 and the IMF anyone. Another Labour success story.
Soaring unemployment. Despite the government telling us unemployment is falling, this is not the case as revealed recently on BBC Newsnight and Question Time.
The recent drop in unemployment was, again, mostly part-time work. The Olympics also created more than 100,000 temporary posts. There will be further temporary posts during the period November to January, mostly retail, for the Christmas period.
What did this government - and our two Thurrock MPs Jackie Doyle Price and Stephen Metcalfe - do to save Coryton? Absolutely nothing. More than 800 people were made unemployed.
Part-time posts aren't going to help any of these people.
We are on the verge of a triple-dip recession because of our incompetent Chancellor George Osborne. It was also revealed on BBC Radio 4 yesterday that we will lose our AAA rating in the new year, however George Osborne hit back and said this is nothing to worry about and won't affect our economy.
This is yet more evidence that George Osborne is an incompetent waste of space, but as a very close friend to David Cameron, this is why he hasn't been saxked. It's absolutely scandalous.
Let's take a look at more of this government's incompetence and disgrace.
Jeremy Hunt and the BSkyB fiasco; Hunt is later promoted to Health Secretary despite misleading Parliament about the BSkyB deal thus breaking the Parliamentary Code of Conduct.
The Virgin west coast railway line fiasco which will cost the taxpayer more than £5bn. Perhaps this is why rail fares are increasing by almost 7% in January to pay for this utter balls-up.
The destruction of the NHS, police and armed forces. How will we cope if there are more nationwide riots? Have you read about how Basildon Hospital is one of many A&E outlets which is bursting at the seams because it cannot cope due to staffing cuts?
One last thing, this government has done more u-turns than a driving school, so don't preach to me about the last Labour government when we have a Coalition who is destorying national morale.
d_2da_ougle
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12:34am Sat 8 Dec 12
ebagumtrebor
says...
7:38am Sat 8 Dec 12
Thurrock Trojan
says...
3:10pm Sat 8 Dec 12
ebagumtrebor wrote:More meaningless tripe you're spouting. You're clearly a deluded Tory living in a parallel universe.
half a million immigrants employed in this country last year. The NHS now spends close to £10 billion a year more now than when this government came to power. Train fares increasing in line with the fares policy brought in by the last Labour government. The Guardianista inspired witch hunt against Murdoch prompted by Brown, Balls and Miliband because of Murdoch's defection to the Tories. Spiteful revenge springs to mind. A Leveson adviser now saying that legislation against the press would be illegal. Other advisers to Leveson openly Labour supporters from the Labour stuffed quango OFCOM. Quango's per se, Labour's idea of circumventing democracy and accountability to push through their policies of multiculturalism and mass immigration. A shortage of 3 million homes because of Labour's mass immigration policy. Firms hiring immigrants because they don't complain about earning less than the minimum wage. More Labour success stories.
This government has chosen to increase rail fares. Fact.
Immigration has not improved under this government. Fact.
Rupert Murdoch licked the backsides of Thatcher, Major, Blair, Cameron and Hunt. Likewise, they repaid the favour. Fact.
The NHS is being hacked to shreds by this incompetent government which is why hospitals across the country are bursting at the seams. Fact.
Finally, we are living in a multicultural society and I welcome it. If you don't then I suggest you emigrate and take your fellow Tories with you. Problem solved.
Thurrock Trojan
says...
3:17pm Sat 8 Dec 12
d_2da_ougle wrote:Basildon Hospital, like hundreds of others, cannot cope because of cuts to staffing and services. Basildon has a terrible track record as does Queen's in Romford and I agree with you that the current and previous government should have done more to improve them.
im behind Ebagumtrebor on this im afraid on what ole george osborn is left to work with the bloke has a genuine intention on cutting our defecit, the point about basildon hospitial is sort of invalid when you think what period of goverment all the rot at that place started was under a labour goverment im not big on either parties to tell you the truth i favour the ukip myself
That said, cuts to NHS staffing and services will only make the situation worse.
As for the incompetent George Osborne, his austerity measures aren't working despite him telling us back in 2010 his measures would help the economy grow. Instead, it has contracted and is now forecast to shrink further in 2013.
The mess our economy is in now is because of this government's incompetence. They've been in office for almost three years now yet are still blaming everyone else for their own mistakes rather than man up and admit they have got it wrong.
mpgrays
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4:18pm Sat 8 Dec 12
The Hog
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1:05am Sun 9 Dec 12
ebagumtrebor
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8:05am Sun 9 Dec 12
d_2da_ougle
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2:39pm Sun 9 Dec 12
improving road safety
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8:49am Mon 10 Dec 12
improving road safety
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8:57am Mon 10 Dec 12
babyblueeyes
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10:08pm Tue 11 Dec 12
Bernard 87 says...
3:52pm Thu 6 Dec 12
Jackie has taken the words right out of my mouth. Labour had over a decade to improve the junction and did nothing. They are also responsible for keeping the tolls past their 2002/2003 expiry date and labelling the charge a 'congestion charge'. It is also Cllr Kent's party that tried to sell off the crossing just before they left office in 2010.
While I still think the government should just scrap the tolls and charges all together Labour have not got a leg to stand on when it comes to the crossing and surrounding junctions.