John Kell

Top work from m'colleagues.

Although minus several million points for the reference to "Colonel Mainwaring".

One of the reasons I couldn't finish Sky's in many ways excellent War Game podcast series was because it showed UK decision-making as so flat-footed. I really hope it was less realistic than they claimed. If it was fair, we won't even have started thinking about our (limited) military options yet.

Network Rail's dirty campaign for this horror continues. The associated press release boasts about the number of registered supporters for the scheme. Secured at least in part by deceiving people into signing up via an astroturf website www.victoriansociety.org.uk/national-new...

I will add to this thread: if you're ever in Bedford and have the chance, do visit the excellent museum that was developed from the Society's buildings after it became defunct. It's a wonderful time capsule, and tells multiple fascinating stories.

High-speed freight trial planned using Class 93s A plan for a high-speed freight operation has received some funding from the Department for Transport.

Another attempt to get longer distance, higher volume parcels traffic working on rail. Should be doable, surely? But nobody's got it to work commercially yet. (I believe Varamis has resumed some operations btw, which this article seems behind on.) www.railmagazine.com/news/high-sp...

Very exciting to see this taking shape though – local rail services (like many public services) should be shaped by local people and have a measure of democratic accountability, but that's never really been a feature of our railways. Regional authorities taking this role fills a big gap.

I also wonder how many trains will go into yellow livery and whether they can operationally be segregated so that they only work Bee Network services. On one level it’s operational detail, but with such strong visual branding it will be important for how people experience & understand the railways.

Do TfGM’s communications plans include assurance that Bee Network trains can be used just like any other, with existing tickets, just like now? Particularly for people outside GM and – shall we say – those who might be more likely to find change concerning or unsettling?

This creates a bit of a messaging challenge.

When the Bee Network plans for taking over rail services and adding smart ticketing were announced, my Mum’s immediate reaction was concern that she would be excluded from using them, as a non-GM resident who will always use a paper ticket.

So that's excellent news – makes Manchester’s night time economy much more accessible from the suburbs.

However, that line has two services per hour: one to Alderley Edge, one to Crewe. So in future, presumably that's one yellow Bee Network-operated train, and one Northern / GBR-operated train.

First trains to join Manchester’s Bee Network by end of 2026 Andy Burnham unveils next step in transport system, allowing contactless travel with fares capped across trains, buses and trams

Ha! So when he said “sooner than you think” @andyburnham.bsky.social was not kidding!

A few quick thoughts…

First: I would have loved to have later trains to Alderley Edge when I was growing up on that route in Handforth, just outside the GM boundary.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Well - you heard it here first!

Clearly a legacy from the previous government, but that's politics innit...

It could be like the 2012 Olympics logo, which seemed jarring and ugly at first but proved influential over time.

Or it could be like the first Biritsh Railways logo, harking back to the past but pointing to the future uncertainly, in name only.

So it probably captures GBR perfectly right now.

Stylistically, the angular design continues recent trends, away from the traditional straight lines that run the length of the train. But the brash colours hark back somewhat to the more garish schemes of the mid-2000s, compared to more sombre tones recently (GWR, EMR).

As for the GBR colour scheme itself... maybe it looks best on the app. Or maybe it looks better in the flesh. But it does seem to give a lesson in why the union flag doesn't have red and blue directly next to each other. They are clashing colours!

Whether it sticks with today's visual identity or tries to refresh it may give a symbolic answer.

This won't be the only new brand on trains though. How many commuter networks will come under mayoral authorities? Expect to see Andy Burnham standing in front of a yellow train before too long.

I've given the parallel before of how NHS England adopted its own name on its first day as a statutory body, having been created in legislation as the NHS Commissioning Board. But that set it down a road towards its own abolition. How assertive will GBR really be?

Consider for instance that the old BR had moved to different liveries across regions and sectors. Its Intercity trains didn't look the same as its stopping trains in the North or regional commuter services in the South East. One livery for (nearly) all was 1965's approach.

So, what do the new GBR livery and visual identity tell us about the new organisation? Mainly that it doesn't exist properly yet and is still a political project and creature of DfT.

The test will come when it gains its statutory status. One wonders whether the visuals will get a tweak.

Precisely. We have an ageing society, a productivity problem & a crisis in local govt. The costs of defence & climate change are all growing, & we have a US president addicted to tariffs, who may be about to start a war in Venezuela.

The budget was *not pessimistic enough* about the public finances

A persuasive piece that you perhaps don't quite realise is leading you to a blunt prediction of the fall of the Prime Minister within 12 months until you're suddenly there.

Good thread on how BPC rules prevent shady tactics like this from going undetected.

But... surely there must be civil service rules against perpetrating this sort of brazen duplicity in the first place?

(Only possible because of weak, lazy journalism / not asking the basics about polling, ofc.)

Profumo had much less on his conscience in the greater scheme of things, but his response to being caught in a catastrophic error of judgement and ethics should be more widely imitated.

The grotesque spectacle of a Labour government — a Labour government! — promoting the idea of stealing from refugees to appease the far right

A view of drab, grey and wet English countryside, to a large extent obscured by the condensation on the bus window.

Hypothesis: people would be more actively attracted to travelling by bus if the windows didn't mist up so readily.

True.

The BBC's consistently low quality broadcast reporting is a core factor though. The partisan doesn't care, or often realise, that the other side's case has been presented just as poorly as their own. To the partisan, poor reporting simply looks like bias.

Policy for Campaigns 12: Tails that can wag the policy dog How can other parts of a campaigning organisation muscle in on policy work?

I encountered a related (though distinct) problem in campaigning organisations: fundraising can become a tail that wags the policy dog, either by driving focus to the work it's easiest to raise money for, or letting fundraising lines trump policy. policyforcampaigns.substack.com/p/policy-for...

Being asked to chase money can detract from using it well In the few years around 2020, Cornwall spent £650,000 on consultants to write funding bids.

After two and a half years in local government, I'm finding @freewheeling.info's Bitesize today certainly strikes a chord. freewheelingbitesize.substack.com/p/being-aske...