Pot holes. The money from a major infrastructure project decades in the planning which would have transformed the country and the economy of the North is to be spent on pot holes.
Fixing holes in the road is not quite the same as creating the NHS or linking the nation with high speed rail lines. In fact, it is something that in any competently run country would not be on the political radar. Holes would automatically be filled in regularly, efficiently and quickly.
It is not rocket science, it is not hi-tech infrastructure, it is not greening the economy; it is two men with a pickaxe, a spade and a bucket of tarmac.
But that is about all the UK can manage at the moment. But I should not carp, what can we do about this?
Well, in France they have a whole series of top universities which train the future bosses, civil servants, managers, scientists, academics, researchers and political leaders. But unlike reading PPE at Oxford many people fight like cats in a sack to get into specialist universities that concentrate on subjects like chemistry, electricity, aerospace, mining and even one just for Roads and Bridges.
The consequence is that France creates huge numbers of very well qualified and trained experts in the areas the economy needs, including building railways. It is something that I notice in Germany too.
A German car plant is normally run by someone who is at least bilingual, has a degree in engineering, a post grad degree in engineering and an MBA. People with degrees in Latin, ancient Greek or history are qualified to teach Latin, Greek or history.
Creating a cadre of qualified and capable managers for every sector of the UK economy and society will take decades. But we desperately need to start now.
Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.
By Jonty Bloom Media
Filling pot holes is British style "levelling up".