Another Government Spending Debacle
Why Governments Should Not Be Trusted With Your Money
This story isn't new, but today's "Daily Telegraph" (see here ) carries a story about the report into the fiasco over the new Scottish Parliament building, for which the budget spiralled from an orginal estimate of around GBP 50 million to GBP 431 million (so far!!). Hope it's a nice building!
Seriously, this is just another scandalous example of the waste that occurs with government spending.
"The officials took "catastrophically expensive decisions" to satisfy their political masters' desire for speed, the inquiry found."
Reading further, the concerns of the "political masters" (primarily, the then Leader of the Parliament, Donald Dewar) were driven by ego and self interest (as usual, why am I surprised?).
"Lord Fraser suggested that Mr Dewar urged the need for speed because he feared that without a permanent symbol of devolution a future Conservative government would repeal the Scotland Act."
and, even worse
"Lord Fraser quoted evidence claiming that Mr Dewar wanted to become the "most important patron of the architecture of government for 300 years" "
Needless to say, the cost of this fiasco will be borne by taxpayers (predominantly in England), not the pampered politicians and civil servants.
This story isn't new, but today's "Daily Telegraph" (see here ) carries a story about the report into the fiasco over the new Scottish Parliament building, for which the budget spiralled from an orginal estimate of around GBP 50 million to GBP 431 million (so far!!). Hope it's a nice building!
Seriously, this is just another scandalous example of the waste that occurs with government spending.
"The officials took "catastrophically expensive decisions" to satisfy their political masters' desire for speed, the inquiry found."
Reading further, the concerns of the "political masters" (primarily, the then Leader of the Parliament, Donald Dewar) were driven by ego and self interest (as usual, why am I surprised?).
"Lord Fraser suggested that Mr Dewar urged the need for speed because he feared that without a permanent symbol of devolution a future Conservative government would repeal the Scotland Act."
and, even worse
"Lord Fraser quoted evidence claiming that Mr Dewar wanted to become the "most important patron of the architecture of government for 300 years" "
Needless to say, the cost of this fiasco will be borne by taxpayers (predominantly in England), not the pampered politicians and civil servants.
posted by Kevin Francis at
3:29 pm
