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

Of course it could be better spent but not by Johnson. We don't need a yacht, we need a better Prime Minister.

Calculated to lose him the next election so maybe there are some positives ?We have a poor government here but I don’t think even they would do such a silly thing. Mad as cut snakes.

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Ooh, I could, Deedaa, it would be lovely!

I think Boris has the same idea as me.

If we accept that Britannia brought in billions of pounds of trade that is hardly relevant today. So much is done on line now that I can't see the point of sailing round the world saying "Ooh look at our big shiny boat!"

How can it be call a Royal Yacht and named after the Duke of Edinburgh if the monarch doesn't want it?

If it is to be called a National Yacht will we all be allowed a cruise on it?

Just utterly ridiculous. The Queen should reiterate formally that it is NOT wanted.

The Queen has already said she doesn't want one. It would become used by the Government for holidays.

David Allen Green, a former government procurement lawyer, blogs that no business case has been put forward for this 'flagship':

What we do know is that a business case should always precede a procurement exercise – and so the fact that a government department may then handle the procurement exercise does not mean that the business case is then created.

That would be to put the dinghy before the boat.

Business cases precede procurement exercises – and should determine whether there is a procurement exercise or not.

The reasonable suspicion of anyone following this daft exercise is that there is no business case – and that this prestige procurement was announced without any preliminary thought whatsoever.

And now the government cannot back down.

And this is how £200 million (at least) is to be spent by the government.

davidallengreen.com/2021/06/is-there-a-business-case-in-existence-for-the-announced-national-flagship/

Nope. Waste of money. Sort out social care

I’d rather public money was spent on libraries, children’s services, social care, NHS, special needs education and just about anything else. More jobs in something useful.

RVK1CR

Absolutely stupid idea, has -- Worzel -- Boris forgotten that the nation is trillions in debt

He hasn't forgotten that at all, because the nation isn't trillions in debt. With a sovereign currency a country can issue as much money as it pleases and only hit problems if there is nothing to spend it on, thus causing rip roaring inflation.

Johnson has discovered the very best recipients of this government created money; himself and all his friends and tory donors.

He and his chancellor are keeping very quiet about this as they'd much prefer you to believe the lie that there is a finite amount of money in circulation, because they intend to cut public spending to the bone, using the excuse of 'paying back the covid debt'. They'll splurge a bit on 'levelling up' in constituencies that were obliging enough to vote tory in 2019, but underlying that will be swingeing cuts to public services.

Absolutely stupid idea, has -- Worzel -- Boris forgotten that the nation is trillions in debt

This was in the Guardian:

The Sunday Times reported the yacht had become the source of a “huge row” in government over how it is funded. The paper quoted an official as saying it was a “complete and utter shitshow” and added: “When it was first floated, the PM wanted it to be built in Britain. It was given to [Cabinet Office minister Michael] Gove to sort out, but it became clear that under procurement rules it could only be built here if it was a navy thing with a bunch of fake weapons on board. So Gove passed it on to the MoD.

This is the proposed design that naval architects have rubbished

The same MOD that couldn’t provide service men and women with adequate kit ? Obviously using the money they’ve saved on that to build a boat, sounds like bad housekeeping.

A naval architect said it looked like a 1950s North Sea ferry! Boris wasted many millions when London mayor on vanity projects. Garden bridge, route master buses, water canons. This is his latest loopy idea.

The steam turbine engine is beyond it’s lifespan

And the RN has been using gas turbines for very many years now.

HillyN

^"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.

HillyN It is perfectly safe anchored as a tourist attraction but at that age the steel in the hull would not be safe for continued seagoing. The steam turbine engine is beyond it’s lifespan (it may already have been removed) and all the electronics, in fact everything inside, would need upgrading.
Renovation is not an option.

Talullah

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.

That day and a half might just swing it for you.

Yes Britannia was supposed to be a hospital ship in emergencies, then when the Falklands War was on they said it wasn't suitable. I think that was the beginning of the end for it because it was always a justification for the expense.

Boys' toys. Nuff said.

I was told that the original Royal Yatch was passed by the government as a hospital ship - i am unaware that any medical passengers used it! so there is a precedent for expensive ships for use by royality

Another flaming vanity project, like the HS2 atrocity. This is a phenomenal waste of taxpayers money, it's beyond a joke.