I have just listened to an extraordinary interview by Lib Dem Julian Huppert MP on radio Cambridgeshire. Talk about lack of support for the upgrading of the A14. Is he the only person in Cambridgeshire who isn’t 100% committed to bringing forward the upgrade as soon as possible?

Well, it seems that he has not been listening to his own government, his own ministers and his own leader Nick Clegg. See below for an interview that Nick Clegg gave late last year. They are all pressing hard for the upgrade and everyone understands that it is a huge scheme that will need to be funded from a range of sources including tolling.

So what encouragement and hope has Julian offered the people of Cambridge and Cambridgeshire?

He is sceptical of tolling. He wants more modelling to be carried out on the most studied and modelled road in the UK. He has not attempted to understand the benefits for Cambridge instead attempted to scare manger that somehow it would be bad for Cambridge.

Well, Julian, I don’t like tolling either but if that is the way to solve the problem of this heavily congested and dangerous road then I can put to one side my personal views to solve this problem. His lack of understanding of the economics of this road and the injuries and fatalities it causes is astonishing. No – actually it is a disgrace.

It is time that Julian put aside his own prejudice against roads and got behind this scheme like 99.999% of the population of this county. Not everyone cycles to the rail station and works in the Westminster Village.

I’m guessing he only wanted a short career as an MP. Lets hope no one ever lets him actually be in charge of anything.

17:08 Thursday 22nd November 2012
Drive BBC Radio Cambridgeshire

http://www.newlistener.co.uk/home/clegg-cash-boost-northstowe/

NICK CLEGG: It’s something separate, but we’ve already said, back in November of last year, so exactly a year ago, that we will make a commitment now to increase capacity on the A14. And you’re right. Without that increased capacity on the A14, only a small number of houses in Northstowe could be built. So the two things very much go hand in hand. And it’s certainly a point that Julian Huppert has been making to me for a long period of time, which is that when you plan for new homes and new construction in an area as beautiful as Cambridge and the outlying areas, north Cambridge, you’ve got to do so in a way which is properly supported by adequate transport infrastructure. And that’s exactly what we’ve sought to do with our support for the A14 expansion