How long have we spent failing to upgrade the A303 past Stonehenge?

Deal or no deal

Have public sector workers had a worse deal in recent years than private sector ones? 

– Between 2007 and last year mean public sector pay declined by 0.9% in real terms, while mean private sector pay rose by 4%. However, for most of that time public sector workers were ahead of private sector ones. It was only after high inflation took hold in 2022 that public sector workers fell behind.

– Public sector workers at the lower end of the pay scale have done relatively much better. Those at the 25th income percentile have seen incomes increase by 16% in real terms since 2007. Those at the 75th percentile have seen incomes fall by 8% in real terms. Men’s mean income fell by 11% in real terms, women’s rose by 3%.

– Since 2010, nurses (-6.5%), teachers (-9.0%) and doctors (-14.7%) have seen big falls, although the Institute for Fiscal Studies points out these are simple averages: the expansion in doctor numbers means there are more junior doctors now than in 2010.

Gold rush

Going into these Games, which countries topped the all-time table for gold medals since the modern Olympics began in 1896?

USA 1,061

Russia/Soviet Union 542

Germany (including West and East) 438

Great Britain 284

China 263

France 223

Italy 217

Never boring

How long have we spent failing to upgrade the A303 past Stonehenge?

1976 Dual carriageway proposed along existing route shelved after Britain forced to approach IMF for emergency loan

1989 Dual carriageway plan revived

1993 Major government produces two proposals: 0.3 mile ‘cut and cover’ tunnel or a longer bypass to the north

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2002 1.3 mile bored tunnel proposed

2007 Scheme dropped on cost and environmental grounds

2016 1.