Our tax money at work

[Seeker]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

It suits the left biased media to say the cost was just a paint job, never let the facts get in the way of an opportunity for Boris bashing. Corbyn as PM would have left the plane drab except for the hammer and sickle on the tail, and maybe an IS logo.

First off, Corbyn isn't even leader of the opposition so that point is moot. Secondly this aircraft's primary function is as a tanker, then a troop transport, then a VIP transport. Painting it in gaudy colours, however patriotic that seems, is senseless and purely a Boris vanity project which we can ill afford.
If we ever get into another fracas and need another tanker it will have to be resprayed grey. There are currently 10 A330-200 muti-role tankers in service with the RAF.

[Grant66]

All 8 of the G8 countries have "presidential" aircraft.

Of those 7 countries, one has a aircraft that is dual use, the rest have aircraft dedicated for use by the leader and government officials (Germany has 15).

I'm all for Boris bashing, as let's face it there is a lot to hold him account for, but changing the colour of an aircraft that needed to be painted anyway isn't one of them.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_...and_government



Sent from an S20 using Tapatalk with that kin cr4p blocked

[keith_d]

Originally Posted by Bibio

<snippity snip>

it will serve many prime minister's over the years. bargain if you ask me.

what i do object to is the ludicrous price HS2 filling the pockets of schoolboy wank mates.

Big construction projects frequently enjoy cross-party support. One lot gets bunce for their mates/donors, and the other gets lots of paid up members for their paymasters.

[shiftin_gear98]

Personally I like.
I'm sure we've wasted way more on other pointless ventures.
At least it has a little more style now.

[SV650rules]

Personally I think it is pretty cheapskate anyway using an RAF tanker as our VIP transport, we don't even have a royal ship any more, what message does it send to the world that we don't have a dedicated aircraft or ship for our top people to travel in... Concorde would probably still be flying if the frogs hadn't destroyed one ( with all on board ) by disobeying all the rules about over-filling fuel tanks, overloading plane with passengers luggage, bad maintenance ( leaving spacers out of landing gear ) and oh keeping their runways clean...

[Ruffy]

Originally Posted by SV650rules

Personally I think it is pretty cheapskate anyway using an RAF tanker as our VIP transport, we don't even have a royal ship any more, what message does it send to the world that we don't have a dedicated aircraft or ship for our top people to travel in...

IMHO, rooted in seeing the cost of everything yet the value of nothing - lots of folk jump to judge the single solution they've been presented with, without also weighing up the alternatives based on the underlying need that generally remains.

It's rarely as straightforward as claimed, e.g. it wouldn't surprise me to learn that this decision to "refurbish the plane" also involved making the job big enough and a sufficiently significant change for funding to become enhancement capex (with the associated tax treatment benefits) rather than maintenance opex. I think even government departments have to abide by typical business accountancy and budget management practices.

Reflective of typical modern attitude and shame more can't make the distinction or be open minded enough to at least engage in informed debate.

[Seeker]

The main problem I have with this repainting cost is the hypocrisy. For 10 years we have been told that there isn't any money for anything and that we have to "fix the roof whilst the sun is shining". On top of this paint job we have the wasted £12mil spent on the contact tracing app which they were warned would not work without Apple's and Google's help and it didn't. How much did the panic building of ventilators cost or the anti-malarial drugs?

I've been regularly writing to my MP for the last 6 years asking for more spending, this isn't quite what I had in mind. I asked for infrastructure spending, NHS spending - interest rates were low, money cheap and it would boost the economy plus we would have something to show for it. After 10 years of austerity we have a flag on the back of an aircraft. Woohoo!

The next problem I have is connected to the Conservative's view of our world status. I don't think many, if any, countries look to the UK as a leader in finance, technical achievement, science, military prowess, sport or political leadership. Yes, we are on the UN security council but it's based on past glory. Yet we strut around as if we are still a world power - we build aircraft carriers and then don't have enough planes to equip them (the Americans will be sharing the carrier) but what is a carrier for? It is to project your country's force around the world - what force, where? Remember the last Libyan fiasco that Cameron got us into when we sent a frigate with only 4 missiles? (and they're fired in pairs).
We can't build our own nuclear power stations without French and Chinese help, our high speed trains will be foreign. We casually make threats of consequences against China and Russia but are generally powerless to do anything.

Don't get me wrong, I love this country with all its flaws but it's time we realised we are now a second tier nation and cut our cloth accordingly, there's nothing wrong with that. Painting a Union Flag on the tail of an aircraft is not going to impress anyone and makes the aircraft less useful for its main function ie: as a tanker.
If you've got money to burn buy more PPE, or meals for school kids, not vanity projects.

Your opinion will probably vary but that's ok too.

[DJ123]

But wasn't the austerity to pay off debt . . . so we don't instantly have money to invest straight after (even if someone promised 350M to the NHS . . . .)
And beyond Corona there's going to be a recession, best case, or potentially a depression if the whole world catches a cold.
At the end of the day the Plane is used by the Royals and Parliament staff too, so it has to look respectable as it is representing the UK.
A plane is certainly money well spent vs a Ship/boat that never gets used - and costs a lot more to run.

[Bibio]

Originally Posted by Seeker

UK as a leader in finance, technical achievement, science, military prowess, sport or political leadership.

you have just named things that this country is good at.


you have to remember that most technological advancement comes out of the UK but is sold off under the table to other countries that then say its theirs.


if there was more money spent on sports then we would be the world leaders.


we have one of the best military in the world.


London still is one of the top financial centres in the world, BTW at one time Edinburgh was higher up than London until the great english takeover to create jobs down south.


well we get to vote in our political parties, cant help it if people are dumb and brainwashed to vote in morons.


who engineered dolly the sheep.. ermm we did when nobody else could.


for a tiny island we do ok...

[SV650rules]

Too many people who run this country down, we regularly swap places with New York as the best financial centre in the world. ARM processors of Cambridge, world leaders in powerful energy efficient processors for mobile devices ( which were ignored by others because 'mobile phones would never catch on, they were just a fad' ). Concord, ( the only bit the french designed was the decor ) flew so fast and so high ( without afterburners due to genius who designed the engine intakes at Filton ) that few military jets could catch it ( EE Lightning was pretty much only one, and that had no range ). As Bibio says many tech advancements come out of UK but are sold off or given away for peanuts. For a small Island with 0.1% of world population we really do punch well above our weight. I say a p0x on people who run this country down.

Name one other country that has thrown so much money at people and companies during the Covid-19 emergency ?