I've seen some brutal political interviews in my time, but this morning's car crash on LBC made me physically cringe.
Emma Reynolds, Labour's Treasury minister, went on air to announce a shiny new £10billion tunnel project. Sounds straightforward, right? Wrong. The woman had absolutely no clue where this massive infrastructure project was supposed to go or how much it would actually cost. We're talking about TEN BILLION POUNDS here.
The Moment Everything Fell Apart
Nick Ferrari was doing what he does best - asking basic questions that any competent minister should be able to answer. Where's this tunnel going? How much will it cost? You know, the kind of details you'd expect someone to know when they're literally announcing the thing on national radio.
Reynolds started shuffling through her papers like a student who forgot about an exam. "You'll forgive me, I can't recall the landing zone," she mumbled. The landing zone! She couldn't remember where a £10bn tunnel was supposed to land.
Ferrari's response was priceless: "So the crossing that you're talking about, you don't know where it is?"
It Gets Worse (Obviously)
But wait, there's more. Reynolds somehow confused Dartmouth in Devon with Dartford in Kent. That's like mixing up Manchester and Birmingham - not exactly a minor slip when you're discussing major infrastructure.
"I meant Dartford, excuse me, I had a very early morning," she said. Yeah, we've all been there, but most of us aren't announcing billion-pound projects when we're half-asleep.
When Ferrari pressed her on the cost, she floundered: "It's going to cost quite a lot of money, several billion pounds." Several billion? That's like saying your mortgage costs "some money."
Ferrari Goes for the Kill
This is where it got genuinely uncomfortable to watch. Ferrari, clearly exasperated, delivered the knockout punch: "Is there much point continuing this conversation because you don't know where a bridge starts, where it ends and you don't know how much it costs?"
Ouch.
I actually felt bad for Reynolds at this point. Nobody deserves to be eviscerated quite that thoroughly on live radio, even if they walked straight into it.
The Reality Behind the Mess
Here's what Reynolds should have known off the top of her head: The Lower Thames Crossing will connect Essex and Kent with two tunnels under the Thames, running east of Tilbury and Gravesend. The project costs £9.2billion (not £10bn as initially reported), covers more than 14 miles of roads, and construction could start next year.
They've already blown £1.2billion on design and planning work. The whole thing will take six to eight years to complete once they actually start building it.
Rachel Reeves called it a "turning point for our national infrastructure." Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said it's been stuck in "planning limbo for far too long." All very nice soundbites, but apparently nobody briefed Reynolds properly.
Why This Matters More Than You Think
Look, we all have bad days. I once forgot my own phone number during a job interview (didn't get that job, surprisingly). But this isn't about having an off morning - it's about competence in government.
When you're dealing with taxpayer money on this scale, you need to know your stuff. This isn't some minor policy tweak; it's one of the biggest infrastructure projects in the country.
The whole episode reminded me why people get so frustrated with politicians. How can you trust someone to spend £10billion wisely when they can't even remember where they're spending it?
Poor Emma Reynolds. Something tells me she won't be doing many more infrastructure announcements anytime soon.
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Did you miss our previous article...
https://hellofaread.com/politics/theyre-finally-going-after-the-grooming-gangs-but-is-it-too-little-too-late
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