Less red tape and chain-gangs of the poor can build the internet superhighway for rural communities

Broadband for Devon: the rural South West is being left behind on the internet superhighway

While rural areas of the South West have been named as having the worst internet speeds, and parts of Somerset are facing copper cable theft, David Davis is suggesting that the jobless or those on welfare should be used to lay the internet superhighway.

The £25 billion suggested that is needed to be spent on building a fibre broadband network in the UK is a bit pricey for a government with an eye on deep cuts to services to fund tax cuts before the next election. So David Davis suggested in the Times: “Only a small fraction of the cost is high-tech materials.

“Why not use the 2.4 million people who are either jobless or on welfare to build this infrastructure?”

Why indeed.

It’s such an important issue that even the barely visible Central Devon MP Mel Stride broke cover to talk about it. There’s a certain irony in Mel Stride talking about the internet as he never uses it to keep his constituents informed of what he’s up to.

Newton Abbot MP Anne Marie Morris, on the other hand, can be quick off the mark for her internet news. She reported on her backing of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership’s bid to be included in the second wave of pilots for faster rural broadband and highlights problems of rural infrastructure in Devon.

She started well: “I wish to follow on from the comments of my hon. Friend the Member for Central Devon (Mel Stride) about the importance of Devon.”

According to her just two people in the Chamber were supporting the Heart of the South West local enterprise partnership’s bid for the second wave of pilots.

She did make a plea for the work, which could be music to David Davis’ ears “20% of our community live in very poor rural areas”. A cheap workforce, maybe?

And her other contribution to the debate ‘simplifying the regulatory regime’. You know, like they did with the banks.

(image: Internet Open Some rights reserved by balleyne)

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