Chris Grilling: Transport secretary faces the heat over rail cock-up
Chris Grayling: Look at those vacant eyes and the twitchy half-smile – he’s a Conservative cabinet minister, all right!
They don’t call him “Failing Grayling” for nothing!
Chris Grayling, the Transport Secretary, is facing a hot time after thousands of trains were cancelled or seriously delayed on Govia Thameslink Railway and Northern rail services.
A new timetable was introduced last month but it has caused huge disruption for commuters.
Mr Grayling is responsible because he approved the unworkable timetable, even though Network Rail had expressed concern.
Not only that, he had also demanded cuts in spending on planning.
The companies concerned have stated that they did not have enough planning time because of major engineering works.
So it seems clear that responsibility for this fiasco falls on Mr Grayling.
Of course, he is trying to blame the rail companies who were trying to carry out his orders.
MPs from across the Commons knew exactly who to blame, and tore metaphorical chunks out of Mr Grayling in an ill-tempered debate on Monday (June 4).
Adding insult to injury, Mr Grayling was to hold meetings with MPs whose constituencies were affected by the cancellations – but the time available was so over-subscribed that – guess what – some of them had to be cancelled.
And it is in this atmosphere that Mr Grayling announced plans for a third runway to be built at Heathrow Airport.
The proposal has split the Conservative Party in Parliament and the government may have to rely on Labour and SNP votes to win the vote.
One wonders whether it is worth the bother. Knowing Mr Grayling, he’ll probably send the contractors to Scotland. There’s a “blasted heath” in MacBeth; he probably thinks that’s the location under discussion.
Needless to say, prime minister Theresa May has expressed her full confidence in Mr Grayling so he will undoubtedly be out of his job by the end of the month.
Source: MPs to launch inquiry into rail timetable chaos | UK news | The Guardian
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“The companies concerned have stated that they did not have enough planning time because of major engineering works.” That says it all, really. The rail system, once an integrated, unified organisation has been hived off and hived off to greedy outsourcers who don’t speak with each other. Privatisation = Fragmentation. When we had an integrated, unified system, i.e. British Rail, where all parts interlocked and communicated, allowances would have been made for the engineering works and the time table, perhaps, delayed. Grayling is a useless, inept know nothing. I’m reminded of Catch 22 where Major Major is described: “Major Major had been born too late and too mediocre. Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them. With Major Major it had been all three. Even among men lacking all distinction he inevitably stood out as a man lacking more distinction than all the rest, and people who met him were always impressed by how unimpressive he was.” He sounds just as inept as Grayling.
“There’s a “blasted heath” in MacBeth; he probably thinks that’s the location under discussion.”
But he won’t realise until he tries to book a seat on a train to visit and then blame the company for not providing transport.
I’m not saying that this situation is deliberate (it’s sheer incompetence) but it will be used along with RBS sale losses and the Heathrow expansion to distract people from the upcoming “make or break” Brexit decisions that will be a disaster for May.
Better that the anger is directed away from her.
Far more important than ‘failing Grayling’ is predator Hunt who takes no responsibility for wrecking our greatest achievement the once world beating NHS as per Tory plans since Thatchers day. Why are these people still being paid large salaries with even larger privileges and expenses when they claim to be NOT RESPONSIBLE for the consequences. If they aren’t who is?