‘National Yacht’, could the £200m be put to better use?

Its quoted in several places. Here's one.

yougov.co.uk/topics/politics/articles-reports/2016/09/28/royal-yacht-recommissioning

Alegrias1

Aepgirl

The previous Royal Yacht was not used just by the royal family, but was a base for international trade meetings when moored in foreign ports. It also gave hundreds of people jobs. It should never have been scrapped.

A new one will be a fantastic asset to this country,

I've posted this before but I make no apology for posting it again.

The Overseas Trade board estimated that Britannia made 3 billion pounds for the exchequer between 1991- 1995.

Foreign trade is about £1,000 billion a year currently. So 3 billion over 4 years is about 0.08% of our international trade.

We could probably manage without a fancy boat. BTW the last one wasn't scrapped. Its moored off Leith.

And does the "Overseas Trade Board" have EVIDENCE to support their view that "Britannia" made £3 billion for the Exchequer between 1991 and 1995?

Or was that money frittered away subsidising private train operating companies, and numerous small private contractors to the national railway system.

Or, maybe it was frittered away on the PPI projects that were started under John Major's premiership?

No.

What’s Tony Blair got to do with it? It’s better than the Holocaust or Hiroshima doesn’t make it good or worthwhile. How about keeping some of his promises ? - sorting out social care was supposed to be a priority .

YES

Talullah

*The Overseas Trade board estimated that Britannia made 3 billion pounds for the exchequer between 1991- 1995.*

Foreign trade is about £1,000 billion a year currently. So 3 billion over 4 years is about 0.08% of our international trade

But surely, Alegiras1 can we compare those figures?

*What's the value of $3 billion by today's money.
£3,000,000,000 in 1994 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £6,121,113,129.29 today, an increase of £3,121,113,129.29 over 27 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 2.68% per year between 1994 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 104.04%.*

Not being a mathematician I'm sure you'll put me straghr

OK, that sounds about right.

So if the "yacht bonus" increases at that rate, its about 0.16% of international trade.

If the new yacht performs twice as well as the old one, its still only 0.3% of international trade.

I suspect you are being modest about your qualifications as a mathematician

I suppose we could do a Cost Benefit Analysis on the return on £200 million. But then we'd have to compare it with other projects. I'm going to have a cup of tea

Still an improvement on Blair’s vanity project. Taking us into a war for non existent weapons of mass destruction. Leaving us open to terrorist attacks ever since.

Boris has a long way to go to beat the labour vanity project. It’s just Boris spouting hot air and not a royal yacht as someone up thread suggested.

Talullah

*There are lots of ways to spend that money better - what about our NHS for a start*

That would give the NHS about a day and a half's spending money.

Agreed ...the money is nothing in national terms.

I don’t think it’s a bad idea as long as it gets enough use and is built here as well.

Pammie1

*That would give the NHS about a day and a half's spending money.*.

That’s not a valid reason. Better a day and a half’s funding for the NHS than another bloody boat !!

I didn't say it was a reason. Just a fact.

Do I care about a Royal Ship? No. But it's not high up there a a conversation piece

varian

Another of Johnson's vanity projects.

He likes anything beginning with 'B': Boris Bike, Boris Bridge...

What are the odds on 'Boris Boat'? (and for the other pedants, I know it's a ship not a boat...)

Totally unnecessary - just a Vanity Project - and by the time the bloody thing is in service it’s guaranteed to have cost double or treble the original suggested price.

That would give the NHS about a day and a half's spending money..

That’s not a valid reason. Better a day and a half’s funding for the NHS than another bloody boat !!

I agree, vanity project for BJ. Would be better spent on many different things, but Boris has just shown he doesn’t care one jot for Joe Public. Matt Hancock appeared on BBC Breakfast on Monday morning promising that there was a meeting on Tuesday to start the ball rolling on the reform of social care, and that every effort would be made to get reform underway by the end of the year. BJ then made a total liar of him by cancelling the meeting and kicking the subject into the long grass. So it doesn’t surprise me that plans for a new yacht have been trotted out. It’s easier to do that than deal with the real issues. Bunch of hypocrites.

"We could probably manage without a fancy boat. BTW the last one wasn't scrapped. Its moored off Leith."
Just what I was going to say Alegrias. We had a look around it when visiting Edinburgh. If we could afford to build a new one, why not renovate the existing one? It is a beautiful yacht with so much character and history, I'm sure foreign businessmen would find it much more interesting than a new one.

theworriedwell

Talullah

There are lots of ways to spend that money better - what about our NHS for a start

That would give the NHS about a day and a half's spending money.

If you were needing the NHS for that day a half I bet you'd think it was money well spent.

I've been needing the NHS since March 2020, actually, theworriedwell but I'm not getting very far.

The Overseas Trade board estimated that Britannia made 3 billion pounds for the exchequer between 1991- 1995.

Foreign trade is about £1,000 billion a year currently. So 3 billion over 4 years is about 0.08% of our international trade

But surely, Alegiras1 can we compare those figures?

*What's the value of $3 billion by today's money.
£3,000,000,000 in 1994 is equivalent in purchasing power to about £6,121,113,129.29 today, an increase of £3,121,113,129.29 over 27 years. The pound had an average inflation rate of 2.68% per year between 1994 and today, producing a cumulative price increase of 104.04%.*

Not being a mathematician I'm sure you'll put me straghr

It is another of Johnson’s vanity projects pure and simple. Everything else is hot air.

Nationalistic nonsense

Talullah

*There are lots of ways to spend that money better - what about our NHS for a start*

That would give the NHS about a day and a half's spending money.

If you were needing the NHS for that day a half I bet you'd think it was money well spent.

I wonder if the design includes a nursery for Johnson Junior? I'm assuming it is going to be used for family holidays.

200 million is a drop in the ocean compared to the national debt after covid!

Not a good idea, but still better than HS2!

Put the money towards HS2 ?

Surely technology is moving us on in life and business is now conducted worldwide without the need for anyone to get off their seat.
This really is just going backwards so that the worlds 'elite'
can swan around enjoying ever more freebies at someone
else's expense.
That world belongs in the 20th Century and Bond films!

Caro57

Scrapping the Royal Yacht was a scandal- aside from a ‘private home’ for the RF how much income did its travels generate for the UK……..

I've posted this before but I make no apology for posting it again. And again.

The Overseas Trade board estimated that Britannia made 3 billion pounds for the exchequer between 1991- 1995.

Foreign trade is about £1,000 billion a year currently. So 3 billion over 4 years is about 0.08% of our international trade.

We could probably manage without a fancy boat. BTW the last one wasn't scrapped. Its moored off Leith.

Scrapping the Royal Yacht was a scandal- aside from a ‘private home’ for the RF how much income did its travels generate for the UK……..