Was it a case of shameless electioneering, or a genuine acknowledgement of the need to improve the road network in order to ease the movement of people and freight and thereby help rebalance the economy?
Deputy PM Nick Clegg asserted last week that a £15bn road upgrade would play an essential role in rebalancing the economy and in May 2015 he’ll find himself going through a democratic process that could either return him to Parliament or see him looking for new challenges.
Clegg and his colleagues will be at the mercy of the UK’s first-past-the-post system and, if we – as is usually the way - apply that method to The Engineer’s Poll then we see a clear winner of last week’s poll with a 43 per cent majority. More on that later.
The remaining 57 per cent of respondents were divided between an interesting mix of opinions, with 28 per cent in line with Clegg, agreeing that manufacturing’s contribution to the economy can’t be improved without better road links; and a further 12 per cent saying that roads are a poor investment and that the money could better spent elsewhere.
Eight per cent of our respondents thought £15bn inadequate to cover the schemes as planned, four per cent said the planned road schemes do not represent good value for money, and five per cent didn’t agree with any of the voting options presented to them.
The opinion that clinched the winning spot in last week’s poll went to the 43 per cent who agreed that road building schemes are essential. Unfortunately for Mr Clegg, they didn’t agree that the proposed road schemes would help rebalance the economy.
What do you think? Let us know below.
This poll refers to the road plans discussed in this article.
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