 |
| David Morris MP claims people say he
‘glows in the dark’ because he’s pro-nuclear. |
Morecambe MP David Morris has been scare mongering in the Commons again, claiming Britain will face a total blackout in 10 years time if the government doesn’t back a massive expansion of nuclear power.
An ardent pro-nuclear supporter, not content with two nuclear power stations on his doorstep, Mr Morris is actively campaigning for a third – even though Heysham is on a fault line, a fact that makes it highly rather worrying that another reactor is even being considered.
“Moving up the coast to Heysham, I have heard a few of the jibes in this House and seen the internet blogging that says, ‘David Morris glows in the dark because he is pro-nuclear.’ he noted during a debate in the Commons last week, reflecting on his first three months in the House. “The truth is, however, that the nuclear power station is the largest employer in Heysham, and I am unashamedly pro-nuclear.
“… I would like to see a third project being built at the nuclear power station in Heysham,” he continued, “and I would like more nuclear power stations to be built all across the country. I am very concerned, like most Members, that the lights will go out in 10 years’ time.”
“I am concerned that there will be no public subsidies for the nuclear power industry,” he commented during a separate debate in response to the Annual Energy Statement. “My constituency has two nuclear power stations that pump out 10% of the national grid. One is to be decommissioned in the next 10 years. Nuclear technology is a low-carbon fuel source, and the statement represents that. We should be looking into part-funding privatised nuclear power stations.
Mr Morris also reiterated his support for the Northern Bypass, joining Lancaster MP Eric Ollerenshaw in a call for a re-examination of the decision to cancel the project on cost grounds – even though Lancashire County Council recently cancelled a similar project on the ground of equally vociferous public disquiet eleswhere in the County.
“We cannot get the traffic off the M6 to Heysham port quick enough, and there are problems with transport in Lancaster,” the company director argued. We are all trying to get green transportation initiatives working, with the jobs that they will create.
“We all implore the Secretary of State to put roads in our areas at the top of the list, and I do so because the road in question would be a key strategic route to the rest of the country.”
Sadly, while he’s been active in the House, Mr Morris has been pretty uncommunicative with constituents. There have been complaints in the Morecambe Visitor about his failure to respond to letters; his Facebook page has not been updated since he was elected, and his Twitter page has been neglected since April.
• David Morris’ Official website (not updated since 8th June)
I suspect that hanging around the docks comes naturally to a commodity like Morris.
Not a real MP exactly, he just turns up once a week, puts in a day's work lobbying for massive nuclear contracts for EDF and that's it.
On another day he puts a pillow over his face and goes in as Eric Ollerenshaw and campaigns to have the green belt paved over to make them a driveway.
I'm getting quite upset with all the people whinging and whinging about the bypass. It's quite obvious that Lancaster's roads are full. If you want the town to expand or Morecambe to recover properly, then you will need to resolve this – because the best you will achieve with 'green' initiatives will be to freeze traffic levels as they are now.
At some point in the next 15 years, electric cars will be far more common and the chances are within another 10 they will be considered to be greener. Everybody needs to accept that walking and cycling just are not feasible all the time in this area.
People want cars. People want to live here. Do you really want to push them away? Or are you willing to spend the money on future-proofing the area?
I'm not saying that the bypass is the only option. But until somebody comes up with an alternative to reduce traffic levels…
I'm getting quite upset with all the people whinging about not having a bypass. Face it – the whole idea is expensive and if you talk to most car drivers they will grudgingly admit that the Northern Bypass proposed will do very little to alleviate the commuter traffic between Lancaster and Morecambe.
Lots of companies and political parties agreed until it became a Hobson's Choice when it came to a new road and then, suddenly, everyone thought the Northern Bypass was a brilliant idea, even though they had argued against the route for years.
Yes, people want cars – and why shouldn't they? But do they need to use them as much? Just look at the roads outside school and university term time. The traffic problems have all but evaporated for much of the day. When the schools and the Universities are open, why aren't people car sharing to get to them – or, indeed, catching the bus? There a huge number of buses up to Lancaster University. But no – they all seem to get into their car, on their own, then moan about the traffic.
There are a huge number of alternatives to the Bypass – Transport Solutions for Lancaster and Morecambe list plenty on thsir web site – heyshamm6link.info – but we can't seem to break out of thinking that new roads are the only solution to traffic problems.
The County hasn't helped with its less than joined up thinking when it comes to designing Lancaster's traffic systems, adding more and more traffic lights that stop and start traffic, at points where the data indicates there is already a lot of air pollution from car exhausts, like Dalton Square. What maroon decided we needed yet another pedestrian crossing by the police station, for example? I can see how utterly frustrating this must be for car drivers.
One suggestion I heard recently was that we should consider more 'cross town' routes. For example, with a bit of thought, why not enable traffic to cut across from Damside Street to the Quay, so that traffic didn't have to go all the way round the one way system? There's already traffic lights at the top of the hill on China Street which could be used to ensure this would be a safe crossing (i.e. cars and lorries wouldn't be braking on the hill).
The County should also consider how sensible the bus station design is. What idiot decided it was a good idea for buses to go around the bust station in a full circle before stopping? Over a year, how much does this add to fuels costs for the bus companies and pollution levels to the town?
No-one who opposes the Bypass plan I've ever met wants to ban cars completely, but it's the way they've been portrayed. Cars are darn useful. But with a little thought from individuals, and a bit more joined up thinking from our bureaucrats and planners, car drivers could easily be placated with a better traffic system – and, I'm sure, far more cheaply than a £150 million pound road that's only going to benefit lorry traffic between Heysham and the M6, not you or I stuck on Greyhound Bridge in a tailback because of bad traffic light positioning and what many feel are nonsensical bus lanes…
As a network guy, I look at this from a purely efficiency-based point of view. Is the current situation providing reliability? It is providing resiliency? Is it using too much energy?
I am left with two fundamental problems, recognising the argument that cars are slowly becoming less polluting:
1. The bridges joining Lancaster to Morecambe (especially in the direction of Morecambe) are the weakest link and biggest threat to resliency. This requires the most urgent attention, because a problem here cuts off the link completely (requiring use of the M6/Carnforth or unsuitable back roads) and results in severe congestion on both sides. Car, or anti-car, this must be solved.
2. The one-way system in Lancaster works well only if the traffic can move freely. Even the smallest amount of construction causes gridlock. There are very limited diversionary routes, but none can handle the volume of traffic when needed. Many are cut off by the congestion itself. Some tweaking, such as what the poster above suggests by allowing traffic to flow across it in places, would be welcome.
Both problems come down to:
1. Capacity.
2. Redundancy.
Lancaster is a town that has mooted various plans for huge expansion, yet hates the idea of new roads, park and ride, etc. Examples of exansion include the abandoned Centros plan, Travelodge, new housing on the quay, Tesco, Booths, a hotel and research park.
From what I have observed, the authorities tend to spend huge amounts of money on consultation, yet fail to actually develop anything. A park and ride needs nothing more than a small fleet of buses and some tarmac near the M6, for example.
Morecambe is a town that has been largely disadvantaged by the collapse of industry and tourism over the past two decades. At some point, the town will turn around or the residents will gradually leave to find work.
Putting in more buses is not a solution for the simple reason that buses have to use the same roads, and bridges, as the cars. I think this is the biggest reason why people don't use them: they are fundamentally just as bad at times.
So this leaves three options:
A. Build more bridges (not necessarily in town, but on routes that can be feasibly used during problem periods).
B. Build more roads into Morecambe, to relieve some pressure on Lancaster and provide a diversionary route.
C. Build a better public transport system, not reliant on the roads or bridges. The idea of a mono-rail was mooted at one point, but simple trams might be the answer if they ran on a principle route, then left the roads where busy. Nottingham is one example where this was combined with a park-and-ride, and has been a huge success from literally day one. Or a simple one/two lane bridge dedicated to buses, with dedicated routes/lanes in Lancaster, would provide similar benefits.
PLEASE, IN THE NAME OF GOD, CAN WE LAUNCH A CAMPAIGN TO 'BRING BACK GERALDINE SMITH!'
Daivid Morris is a hairdresser with no actual skills or abilities to aid in the process of policy decision making , running a government department or indeed caring about any constituent at all. Mr Morris has never, ever, done anything positive politically and I can only assume that the people of Morecombe have placed him in this position for 4 years of free hair cuts and if they don't they will will regret it as they will get nothing else.