Imagine if you will, Britain’s primary road. The number one road on our island nation. The longest road that connects the English and overall British capital with the Scottish capital. It is made up of dual carriageway and motorway across the nation. But here, in North Northumberland, it is but a single track road with bursts of occasional dual carriageway.
The fact that this happens in a modern-day, first world country is both baffling and appalling. But it also makes it come as no surprise when I hear the project to dual the road has been kicked into the long grass – again!
A bit of history
For my entire life, the A1 has been like this in North Northumberland, seen as a rural country road by those sitting in suits and sipping champagne in London. Who the hell cares about a stretch of road over 300 miles away in the north?
The issue has been argued more times than I can count. During every election since I came of voting age and no doubt countless ones before, the A1 has been wheeled out as a political weapon. A vote winner or electoral milking cow if you like. I have seen them all up here from Prime Ministers to MPs to political candidates, all wearing hi-vis jackets and having their photo taken looking at the road with no intention of doing anything. Even our former Conservative MP, who was so vocal about getting it done, clearly left her heart out of it. Perhaps if she hadn’t, then she would have used her time as Transport Secretary to see the project through. But why complete the vital work when you can have an election soundbite for years to come? Like “Take Back Control” and “Get Brexit Done”, “Dual the A1” takes its rightful place as powerful political rhetoric.
Throughout my life on this planet, 13 years of Labour government and 14 years of Conservative government have failed to act on the A1. So why, when hearing the news on the radio, was I not surprised to hear that dualling the A1 was being cancelled?
Why?
This time they’re saying there’s no money for it. But seriously, why not? Forget the £22billion black hole, forget what the Conservatives used as their excuse during their time in office, why is there no will to do this? There’s always money when the politicians deem it necessary so why not now? Why is there no will to give the North of Northumberland a decent road? What is wrong with sending some more infrastructure investment to the most northerly reaches of England? How many more people have to die in fatal crashes for any government to sit up and take notice? How many people must be cut off in the winter thanks to the treacherous road for the politicians to reconsider? Why is it that the north of England is always an afterthought in the brain of British politics?
I’m going to be realistic here and say that I doubt I will ever see the A1 dualled in my lifetime. Sad as it is, I believe that to be the reality. Tough decisions have been sited by the government and I must concede that running a country in the immediate aftermath of the Conservatives wrecking everything is not an easy task but for heaven’s sake, give us a break!
I have travelled south and spent time in the beauty of southern England. But the most striking thing I saw there was just how strong the north/south divide really is. And the A1 only serves to prove that point, as well as the latest and all the other decisions to not act upon it.
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