Not all Victorians were visionary, Mr Cameron

By Andrew Hill

I?m getting fed up with the UK coalition government?s ritual invocation of Victorian values or visions whenever it wishes to urge a put-upon populace to new heights.

In David Cameron?s latest speech, the prime minister calls on the spirits of Brunel, Telford and Stephenson, to inspire new infrastructure investment in the UK, from nuclear energy to new towns. He accompanies nostalgia for the Victorian era with the inevitable negative comparison with other nations? superior efforts: the French, Dutch and Swiss have cheaper, less crowded railways than the British; the South Koreans have faster broadband; the Indians have newer nuclear power stations; and the Chinese have bigger airports.

In his speech on Monday, Mr Cameron blamed a failure by governments to break down ?vested interests and bureaucratic hurdles? to progress:

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ft/westminster/~3/6mR3gayAXXE/

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