People knocking Teessiders for voting for Houchen.

sambaDTR

sambaDTR

Well-known member
Anybody knocking people for voting for Houchen (especially ex Teesside folk living outside the area) should look at the facts. I didn’t vote for him because I don’t vote for a party who are only interested in making money and looking after themselves. However I am now retired and you have to look at the Teessiders who are working age or the teenagers who are looking to work here in the future.
Teesside Airport is back. You might not think it is important but international businessman do. If you are trying to create jobs for the 21st Century you need to be able to fly people into Teesside, not Newcastle or Leeds Bradford. We had a record number of passengers in 2006 of 900,000 but instead of going upwards it went down under Peel. It is important.
As far as the steelworks are concerned they have gone. The site has now been cleared and it is a prime site for redevelopment. It has a river and carbon catchment and green energy companies etc are going to be built on the site. The Conservatives have also relocated a big treasury site out of London to Darlington. OK, the financial side is suspect but, if you are looking for a job, you are not bothered how the job is created.
Teesside was the first area to vote for a Metropolitan Mayor in 2017 under the Conservatives idea to try to get votes in the North. No other region was interested at the time. We needed it. That is why we got money for the last 7 years over Newcastle and Yorkshire who now, unsurprisingly, now want their share of the pie. We all know most of the money would have gone to Newcastle if they had applied for it in 2017.
Forget about the politics. Teesside will, hopefully, benefit because Houchen is staying in charge. At least it keeps the rest of the Country talking about Teesside. We are Teesside, an anomaly. We have only been here about 150 years built on iron and steel and ICI. We had people coming to work here from all over England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. If we had just gone with what the rest of the Country thought we would do then would have been ignored yet again. No one town in Teesside has City status. It will be interesting to see what happens when Labour get into Government this year but they will have to look after us now. We will not be ignored. (y)
 
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sambaDTR said:
Anybody knocking people for voting for Houchen (especially ex Teesside folk living outside the area) should look at the facts. I didn’t vote for him because I don’t vote for a party who are only interested in making money and looking after themselves. However I am now retired and you have to look at the Teessiders who are working age or the teenagers who are looking to work here in the future.
Teesside Airport is back. You might not think it is important but international businessman do. If you are trying to create jobs for the 21st Century you need to be able to fly people into Teesside, not Newcastle or Leeds Bradford. We had a record number of passengers in 2006 of 900,000 but instead of going upwards it went down under Peel. It is important.
As far as the steelworks are concerned they have gone. The site has now been cleared and it is a prime site for redevelopment. It has a river and carbon catchment and green energy companies etc are going to be built on the site. The Conservatives have also relocated a big treasury site out of London to Darlington. OK, the financial side is suspect but, if you are looking for a job, you are not bothered how the job is created.
Teesside was the first area to vote for a Metropolitan Mayor in 2017 under the Conservatives idea to try to get votes in the North. No other region was interested at the time. We needed it. That is why we got money for the last 7 years over Newcastle and Yorkshire who now, unsurprisingly, now want their share of the pie. We all know most of the money would have gone to Newcastle if they had applied for it in 2017.
Forget about the politics. Teesside will, hopefully, benefit because Houchen is staying in charge. At least it keeps the rest of the Country talking about Teesside. We are Teesside, an anomaly. We have only been here about 150 years built on iron and steel and ICI. If we had just gone with what the rest of the Country thought we would do then would have been ignored yet again. It will be interesting to see what happens when Labour get into Government this year but they will have to look after us now. We will not be ignored. (y)
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How very dare you go against the grain on this board and see the wider implications on what Teesside has to offer and be very logical in your thinking. Even some of the board ADMIN, even though, meant to be impartial, hate the thought of the Houch having some power in the Tees Valley, because he wears a blue tie, trying to make this depleted area great again, rather than being a stagnant area it has been for the last few decades and shame on that them for that attitude. This board has become a sheep mentality when it comes to politics. NOT ONE voted for BREXIT and NOT ONE voted for the Conservative party in the last election, yeah right, more hypocrites. I can see why popular ex members like Erimus left this board because of the rancid board it has become. Happy to receive to the grief for this post but could not give a flying fook about it. This board has being going down the pan for the last few years anyway.
 
Norfolkred1 said:
trying to make this depleted area great again
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If Houchen was actually doing that then I'm pretty sure people would back him. He isn't though. He's just a self-publicist with access to a lot of money that should be being used to improve the lives of Teessiders.

I didn't vote for Brexit and I didn't vote for the Conservatives because neither of them offered any benefits to the area. I didn't vote for Houchen for the same reason.
 
Gave all that land away to his mates so they could pocket millions and millions. Yep, most definitely a legit guy with Teesside's best interests at heart and not at all bent. I suspect that his defenders are the same people who still have a soft spot for 'good old Boris'. And no, I don't live on Teesside. Maybe that's why it's easier to understand that voting him back in makes the area look nationally like an odd tory backwater. Very sad.
 
While I think some of ‘his’ achievements are worthwhile, I’m not sure the lack of transparency and apparent murkiness in some deals is worth it…
If these ideas are viable, why aren't the deals not more open and less self serving…
He’s a go get it done kind of guy, but at what cost? The tories and their ‘independent’ followers are always up in arms at some of the good projects SBC have delivered because of possible costs but they’re happy to see their own take credit for deals with more dubious back grounds…
 
Anyone voting Houchen is a total mug, simple as that. The man is a bent b****d representing a party who have shafted Teesside massively.

People here have totally forgotten their history and how successive Tory government have deliberately attacked their area.

It is a disgrace.
 
All I keep hearing is that he gets things done. What has he actually done? The TVCA is basically responsible for transport across the region, adult education and trying to secure inward investment.

Since I moved back to the area I've given up on trying to use public transport. I can't imagine what it's like if you don't drive in these parts. The airport has a couple of flights a day to Schiphol and it looks like it now has some random flights to Spain and Portugal. I've used it once in the last few years and that was to fly to Ireland, which is no longer an option since loganair have pulled out. I've used Leeds Bradford, Newcastle and Manchester numerous times. I'm flying to Portugal next month from Manchester. I did look at Teesside and whilst there was a flight out there wasn't a suitable return flight.

Adult education - tbh I have no idea about this, is it any good? Have services improved?

How many actual jobs have been created? What is Teesworks all about? Do you actually know anyone who works there? It looks dodgy as hell, a massive transfer of public assets and capital to a couple of businessmen. What else is happening? Middlesbrough specifically is the worst it has been in my lifetime and inward investment does not look very obvious.

Some good things are happening in Stockton but that has more to do with quite an innovate council rather than anything the TVCA has done.

Some civil service jobs have moved to Darlington which is a good thing, but again this seemed to be part of the levelling up agenda under Boris to reward some of the red wall voters.

What's happening in Hartlepool /Redcar? The region is on its knees after 14 years of a Tory government, and 7/8 years of a Tory regional mayor, but Teesside seems to like it that way.
 
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OP: "corruption is fine as long it creates some jobs".

So Teesside has been trod into the ground we're now pathetically grateful for any scraps of investment, even if the crooks are helping themselves to the lions share of the pie.

inspirational stuff. Not a world I want for my kids, but each to their own.
 
Norfolkred1 said:
trying to make this depleted area great again
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😂

This is like the Tory's saying they've massively bumped nurse, doctor and police figures despite being the ones despite whole for them dropping them. Labour may not be saints but the very reason this great area is depleted is asset stripping and underfunding by the tories and impacts of Tory policies.

Sounds familiar this line anyways

1714888586818.jpeg
 
Not sure where to start with this.

The guy is a grifter, scratch beneath the (very thin) sheen of his media courting 'successes' and a very ugly reality is revealed.

And regarding the airport, if thecirca £200m pa of public money that's required to prop it up is a good deal for teessiders then I really can't see by what measure.
 
SmoggyRambo said:
Cheers for the 12quid flights to Alicante, here take this Port for you and your mates as thank you!
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They're massively subsidised with taxpayers money.
Money I'd rather go into the NHS or to reduce child mortality or abject poverty.
But the halfwits believe the spin and swallow shyte spouted headlines just like trump.
I'm ashamed of them, never thought in my lifetime we'd ever see this on Teesside.
 
This is really simple. Governance and oversight - its dead boring. But its essential. Enron anyone?

You can't cover your decision making process in a shroud of secrecy when dealing with the publics money, not your own (the same applies to when its shareholders cash). Accountability & transparency is key.

All the ***** raining down on Houchen, he has brought upon himself. If he was CEO of a listed company, his actions to date would have got him the sack or he would have been forced to resign (going back to the boring Governance issue).
 
sambaDTR said:
Anybody knocking people for voting for Houchen (especially ex Teesside folk living outside the area) should look at the facts. I didn’t vote for him because I don’t vote for a party who are only interested in making money and looking after themselves. However I am now retired and you have to look at the Teessiders who are working age or the teenagers who are looking to work here in the future.
Teesside Airport is back. You might not think it is important but international businessman do. If you are trying to create jobs for the 21st Century you need to be able to fly people into Teesside, not Newcastle or Leeds Bradford. We had a record number of passengers in 2006 of 900,000 but instead of going upwards it went down under Peel. It is important.
As far as the steelworks are concerned they have gone. The site has now been cleared and it is a prime site for redevelopment. It has a river and carbon catchment and green energy companies etc are going to be built on the site. The Conservatives have also relocated a big treasury site out of London to Darlington. OK, the financial side is suspect but, if you are looking for a job, you are not bothered how the job is created.
Teesside was the first area to vote for a Metropolitan Mayor in 2017 under the Conservatives idea to try to get votes in the North. No other region was interested at the time. We needed it. That is why we got money for the last 7 years over Newcastle and Yorkshire who now, unsurprisingly, now want their share of the pie. We all know most of the money would have gone to Newcastle if they had applied for it in 2017.
Forget about the politics. Teesside will, hopefully, benefit because Houchen is staying in charge. At least it keeps the rest of the Country talking about Teesside. We are Teesside, an anomaly. We have only been here about 150 years built on iron and steel and ICI. We had people coming to work here from all over England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. If we had just gone with what the rest of the Country thought we would do then would have been ignored yet again. No one town in Teesside has City status. It will be interesting to see what happens when Labour get into Government this year but they will have to look after us now. We will not be ignored. (y)
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But you didnt vote for him?
Seems odd if you believe what you posted
 
Norfolkred1 said:
How very dare you go against the grain on this board and see the wider implications on what Teesside has to offer and be very logical in your thinking. Even some of the board ADMIN, even though, meant to be impartial, hate the thought of the Houch having some power in the Tees Valley, because he wears a blue tie, trying to make this depleted area great again, rather than being a stagnant area it has been for the last few decades and shame on that them for that attitude. This board has become a sheep mentality when it comes to politics. NOT ONE voted for BREXIT and NOT ONE voted for the Conservative party in the last election, yeah right, more hypocrites. I can see why popular ex members like Erimus left this board because of the rancid board it has become. Happy to receive to the grief for this post but could not give a flying fook about it. This board has being going down the pan for the last few years anyway.
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Don't worry, mammy will be along soon to get those toys back in the pram.
 
It's like the entire area has mass Stockholm syndrome. I think it's quite normal for people to be rightly concerned when they see people, through no fault of their own, making choices that are against their own self interests and which in fact will harm a lot of them in the long run.

There is not one single thing that Houchen has done that truly benefits the majority of Teessiders and the sad thing is they will continue to suffer because of it.

Mostly it's down to the lack of proper scrutiny and proper information at local level. I've said in other threads, the average Teessider does not read private eye... If only we had a proper independent local media, instead we just had a party mouthpiece.

You can say (not incorrectly) that labour should have put up a better candidate, but even a sack of potatoes should have walked it after everything that's come and gone.

You can't blame people for being uninformed though for sure, but it is a big concern for the area.

The small sliver of hope is now the asshat is surrounded on all sides and when labour gets in he will finally get the scrutiny he deserves and his endless supply of get out of jail free cards will finally come to an end.
 
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