Conservative cabinet minister Michael Gove’s suggestion that a new royal yacht should be “a gift from the nation to her majesty” on the occasion of her diamond jubilee earned diplomatically short shrift from Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg today:
(Also available to view on the BBC website here.)
* Stephen was Editor (and Co-Editor) of Liberal Democrat Voice from 2007 to 2015, and writes at The Collected Stephen Tall.
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8 Comments
What can one say? This idea, supported by someone who feels qualified to write a ‘forward’ in the King James Bible, sums up the “all in this together” government.
Its a shame that its impossible to sail in Alex Salmond’s arc of prosperity, what with it being a) an arc rather than an ark, and b) illusionary
Personally I’ll support a Royal Yacht so long as its named HMS Austerity.
Here’s a constructive suggestion. Why not open a subscription fund to buy the Queen a Diamond Jubilee present, in the form of something that would be of lasting benefit to her subjects? – an idea I am sure she’d be sympathetic to. Not a £60m yacht for her personally, but something of comparable value for the public good – I daresay a fair proportion of people would be prepared to cough up £1 each, and perhaps some might even stretch to £5 or £10. I’m not sure what, but probably quite a lot of good could be done with £30-40m spent wisely, and surely not even the most anti-state Liberals of these days could object if it was done voluntarily, rather than through taxation.
Ideas?
Two and a half cheers for Nick Clegg!
Now let’s see the entire Party pitch in on side of ordinary people. Consistently.
According to today’s Guardian Lib Dem controlled Portsmouth council have enthusiastically endorsed the proposals for the new yacht.
@bhainart
You don’t think the fact that it might be Portsmouth based might have something to do with Portsmouth City Council supporting the idea.
I dare say if it was going to be moored off Southport Pier then my own Sefton Council might well “enthusiastically endorse” the idea,
Incidentally, the Guardian is rather behind the times. The Portsmouth News reports that “plans to build a privately funded replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia have been in development with the support of the city council for more than a year.”
@Simon Shaw
Let them eat yachts..lol
As a former professional yachtsman, may I protest about the description being applied to a ‘gas gobbling gin palace’.