Boris Johnson says £200m royal yacht will let UK ‘show itself off to the world’

Don't worry about the big issues, the UK really needs a yacht

Boris Johnson has denied that his new plans to spend £200m on a new royal yacht is a waste of money- stating it would “show off” the UK to the rest of the world. Labour leader Kier Starmer has instead suggested spending the money on anti-social behaviour. https://twitter.com/LouiseTimothy/status/1418099166958571520 Optics is everything, especially when it comes to foreign nations and how they view the country. But surely, the best optics is how we handle ourselves during times of crisis and scandal. For instance, perhaps a better "show off" would have been the handling of the pandemic, or the crackdown on racism. Scotland’s first minister and SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has called the project a “ludicrous” waste of money, while former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke referred to it as “silly populist nonsense”. “We need somewhere where the UK can show itself off to the world and attract investment and that will drive jobs and growth in the UK – not just in shipbuilding but across every sector of the UK,” he told LBC. https://twitter.com/LBC/status/1420312932655710208 “We need a forum, a place where the best of British business and industry can come together to showcase what we have to offer, and … you know what I mean by, by MIPIM, the world trade fairs, the expos. "It is a project that will not only help to revive the ship building industry in this country, drive immediate jobs and growth for young people, immediate job opportunities for young people in a sector in which this country used to lead the world.” “As for financing this ship, there’s £200m to find and I’d be surprised if the running costs weren’t £5m a year," said Stephen Payne, the designer of the massive ocean liner Queen Mary 2. https://twitter.com/carty1888/status/1420347751271915522 The Independent reports that this boat could be built by 2022 and enter service within four years.

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