Not an appropriate use of 60 million pounds under the present circumstances? Compared to what, exactly? That is well below half of what the NHS spends in a single day, as I am very glad that it does.
Paying a British shipyard to build a new Royal Yacht would be an admirable use of public money to stimulate the economy by providing unionised, high-wage, high-skilled, high-status jobs to working-class men. If necessary, fighting the European Commission for the right to insist on such a workforce would be a most welcome reassertion of our sovereign right to create millions more such jobs. The trade that the Yacht itself would bring in, would recoup the cost of building it many, many, many times over.
John Redwood may dine out on his opposition to the Major Government’s decision to scrap the Royal Yacht. But it was Peter Shore who denounced it at the time. Shore also supported Canadian against Spanish fishermen not least because Canada and the United Kingdom shared a Head of State. Both on the Royal Yacht and on fisheries, even the Scottish National Party now agrees with him.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I don't think the use of public money going to British shipyards is an issue, but where the end result goes is. If this is such a good idea then I'm sure there are a number of other maritime builds which may benefit the public more.
ReplyDeleteFrom Wikipedia (I know, but bear with me):
ReplyDeletePeter David Shore, Baron Shore of Stepney PC (20 May 1924 – 24 September 2001) was a British Labour politician and former Cabinet Minister, noted in part for his opposition to the United Kingdom's entry into the European Economic Community. His idiosyncratic left-wing nationalism led to comparison with the French politician Jean-Pierre Chevènement.[A comparison made by Tam Dalyell, as it happens.] He was described in an obituary by the Conservative journalist Patrick Cosgrave as "Between Harold Wilson and Tony Blair, the only possible Labour Party leader of whom a Conservative leader had cause to walk in fear."
Reminds me of someone. Reminds me a lot.