‘Magic Money Tree rewarding failure’

AFTER 10 years of austerity, I am amazed how the Magic Money Tree has showered lucrative business on the people with the right contacts.

The Test and Trace business landed on a plate for Serco and the Tory peer Dido Harding.

As we stumble into a new wave of Covid-19 infections, and many people can’t get a test, they have been rewarded for failure.

Though the system is entirely privatised, Serco have dodged the blame by calling it NHS Test and Trace. To be clear, with no ifs and no buts, it is Serco Test and Trace.

The Johnson cronies are on a mission to undermine the NHS. They may have clapped for the NHS workers in lockdown, but the same Magic Money Tree has nothing left for the key workers on the front line.

It strikes me HS2 works in the same way.

Loads of taxpayers’ money showered on a company that acts with impunity.

Since Johnson donned orange overalls for his photo-shoot at the official start of construction, HS2 Ltd has been trashing the environment between London and Birmingham, as much-loved nature reserves, heritage trees and ancient woods get the chop. HS2 has virtually been a law unto itself.

At one time it did offer the extra capacity needed on the railways, though at an extraordinary price.

But the business case has gone through the floor since the pandemic, as the rest of the rail network struggles to attract back passengers, and working from home will be a habit that won’t go away.

Though we should be pleased that there still is money for railways, HS2 is entirely the wrong plan for our new future. Out-of-date already before it gets started.

JON HEAL STONE