The Real Cost of Political U-Turns: Jonathan Collins on UK's Infrastructure Crisis

Mark My Words Podcast

Mark talks to Jonathan Collins, friend and former leader of Nottingham City Council for 16 years. They discuss in depth Labour's recent budget decisions, infrastructure challenges, and the complexities of political promises. While coming from different sides of the political spectrum, their frank discussion explores local government, infrastructure investment, and the realities of political decision making. The debate around HS2, regional development, and political accountability makes this a must listen for anyone interested in UK politics and economic policy.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Good infrastructure (railways, roads, broadband) is essential for local economic growth - when these basics are missing, even successful businesses struggle to expand.
• Politicians avoid being honest about taxes before elections, creating a cycle of unrealistic promises and voter disappointment.
• There aren't enough young people being born causing a social care and tax crisis.
• Government projects often cost much more than necessary because officials are too focused on avoiding any possible criticism rather than being practical.
• The constant stopping and starting of major projects like HS2 wastes enormous amounts of money as contractors have to keep reorganising their work.
• Many areas of the UK are held back not by lack of business opportunity, but by poor transport connections and outdated infrastructure.
• Union influence on Labour Party decisions is less direct than many people think.
• Professional experts often over-engineer infrastructure projects due to fear of future criticism, leading to gold-plated solutions rather than practical ones.
• Local councils face challenges in basic service delivery (like waste collection) due to the complex relationship between unions, management, and practical realities.

BEST MOMENTS

"Part of the challenge with politics is that it often descends into personalities... But ultimately, this is all about how we run the country and it's about policy."

"The country isn't working anymore. It isn't functioning and so the conversation is, so are we happy with that? Are we happy to continue doing that?"

"There aren't enough young people being born. You're not enough working age people to pay for the old people. We've got social care issues."

"If you concentrate on infrastructure and housing, you will get growth. Infrastructure and housing will deliver you growth."

"Why does it cost four times as much to do HS2 per mile than it does to do the TGV?"

"Each time they get all of their payments, as soon as the government decides to stop again, it's massively disruptive and costly. Stop starting. I mean, it's completely bonkers."

VALUABLE RESOURCES

https://www.youtube.com/user/progressiveproperty https://www.progressiveproperty.co.uk/the-progressive-co-founders/

ABOUT THE HOST

Mark has bought, sold or has managed around 1,000 property units for himself, Rob, his family and his investors since 2003. He is a system and spreadsheet geek and has developed a complex, confidential deal analyser system of buying residential, commercial and multi-let properties.

CONTACT METHOD

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/markhomer1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markprogressive

Twitter: https://twitter.com/markprogressive

‘Brought to you by Progressive Media’: https://progressivemedia.uk/