It ‘might’ be fully operational by 2085… * but sadly won’t be extended to Leeds or Manchester.

Is anyone going to mention defence procurement or our track record in planning and building major projects?

That’s a formal warning. If he does it again he’ll start to lose marks for the course.

Also good.

Good news & something we've long argued for. 1 in 4 NEETs receives incapacity benefits. Hopefully some access will also be opened to young people not on benefits (the other 50% of NEETs) who've been NEET for some time, when referred by a trusted body like a local authority.

Good - always had lots of evidence supporting their impact (+ support from both several Labour and Conservative skills ministers).

I was at Burnden Park the night they beat us in the FA Cup. As approx 150,000 Wolves fans now claim.

I was around in different bits of govt during both of those - the casino aftermath and the Winter Gardens decision. Gordon Brown - son of the Manse - thought a university was better than gambling/iniquity…

I know. But I think I’ve now bought pretty much everything in the Beatles shop. What I really need is a Harold Wilson ‘white heat’ t shirt.

… and it would put a few quid into its economy and bring people who might be tempted to invest either in Blackpool itself or at least the transport infrastructure that would struggle to get everyone there.

Exactly. As well as to education, welfare, housing, devolution….

Oh definitely. Labour did deal to be in Liverpool several years ago. Must have been a good one because they’ve been there ever since.

The Pieman Cometh, Manchester Road, Accrington, painting by John L. Chapman (b. 1946).

2) England is a rare exception. During the 2010s many other countries (including the other 3 UK nations) changed tack, experimenting with ideas like transferrable skills instead of focusing on tried-and-tested disciplines and methods. It looks like those experiments have failed.