[hibeejim21]

The whole thing with the sick kids hospital has been a complete debacle, a total embarrassment.

And like many other projects all paid for with a new brand of PFI that means the private sector rake in the cash. Offshore firms are getting paid millions from NHS Lothian for a hospital that isn't even running yet.

[0762]

PFI was a disgraceful Labour Party disaster, with a huge "financial hit" that Blair effectively passed on to future governments and tax payers who would be "picking up the tab" over a period of 30 years! The Scottish govt have pragmatically tried to initiate a more accountable and efficient financial model - originally the Non-Profit Distribution Scheme looked like a decent model but it fell foul of EU rules and regs in 2016. So they moved on to the Mutual Investment Model which again is high risk to incur financial penalties! What is the perfect financial model to finance massive projects then?? Seriously!!! Because this area of effective finance and management of major projects provides a f###### minefield of risky choices. I am an ex projects and contracts administrator - I know my stuff and the pitfalls of choosing appropriate contracts, compiling them properly and managing projects can be fraught with difficulty. I've studied some of the main issues governing said projects of concern and, by gum, one must briefly move away from govt accountability and focus on people accountability i.e. project managers, supervisors, checkers/clerks of works (frugally used theses days btw to "save money"!!!!!???) etc - the key words to use are "competence" and "awareness" in delivering a high spec, high costs project/contract and doing it as cost effectively as possible. Remember that the Scot govt has to normally deal with a private sector partner/partners who wants to "make lotsa money/profit" out of such an exercise. Therefore the main objective of the govt is to try to ensure that said contracts are not "flimsy documents" that an unscrupulous Principal Contractor can "drive a bus through"! In other words, the contract clauses should be strict and to the point where additional payments (a big item in large contracts!) should be minimised as much as possible and that is down to good contract writing. Non-performance payments/penalties are important in ensuring "contractor accountability" and not avoiding responsibilities! Adversarial contractual partnerships are not recommended in administering big projects either. I was astounded to read the content of McColl's report re the Ferguson Shipyard problems with the CalMac Ferry project!!!! The adversarial nature of associations within this project was so amateurish and worthy of massive criticism - ridiculous!! There are some great research docs that have been published down the years (some of them go back over 20-30 years, published by the likes of the ICE and others) and basically provide some good info re the "dos" and "don't" of compiling contract docs and linking to the amicable administration of delivering a major project and doing it effectively and efficiently!! The failures within all said "failed" large-scale projects are self-evident to me and the "buck" does not stop totally at the "doorstep" of the Scottish govt. It is far more complicated than that AS USUAL!!

[hibeejim21]

PFI actually started with the tories and was widened and continued by Blair and brown.

The SNPs attempts at countering it were really just renaming it and rebranding it and in all honesty they have made a bit of a xxxx of it. More of the public estate has been sold off by the Scots Gov than anyone else as private finance has carved it up. But to be fair in a lot of ways they are snookered because they don't have the powers to raise capital for these types of projects.

[0762]

The only thing I can add re that PFI disgrace is that it was a cute and convenient "kop out" for a government that didn't have the financial resources "up front" to deal with massive projects properly. Hence this cynical way to set up such projects on the "never, never" and "saddle" future govts/tax payers with the burden of paying off the equivalent of a long-term lease while the instigators (Blair et al) have "left the scene of the crime"!! Outrageously immoral but perfectly legal!!

[hibeejim21]

HS2 going ahead - I bet you the line north of Birmingham doesn't ever happen though.

100 billion to take 20 mins of a journey that's 80 mins. Totally a waste of money. Wales for instance has no track linking its north and south. The money could have been much better spent.

Never mind we are getting our bridge to Northern Ireland to keep us happy. Someone should stick Boris on the larne ferry on a shite crossing and let him see how this is never going to happen.

But this is mere distraction from the real news today - and drink this in deep.


"From the "frictionless" trade with EU Member States that we have enjoyed since the advent of the Single Market (and were promised would continue during the referendum campaign), we now revert to the full panoply of border checks on incoming goods, including veterinary inspections of animals and products of animal origin in as yet non-existent border control posts.

To make matters worse, the new IT system required to handle the volume of customs declarations will not be ready until 2025, requiring traders and shippers (those who manage to stay in business) to cope with a costly "make do and mend" approach. "

Had we sought to rejoin Efta and negotiate a new EEA deal, EU border checks could have been avoided completely. A further clue boris is quite happy for us to go WTO in a 'no deal' Brexit.

[0762]

Replace Trump and his "Build the wall" project with Johnson and his HS2 scheme!! Isn't that so similar!! Both of these characters are compelled to attach themselves to some kinda political "mission statement" to match up to their supporter whims!! One has to ask, "Is this massive project economically justified at all"???? And the price that Johnson is currently quoting could well escalate to 3 or 4 times what the real cost will be. Such is the precarious nature of costing such hugely priced transport schemes like this one!
Re that highlighted "real news" revelation re this British govts real Brexit intentions, it just highlights the lies and deceptions that have been peddled for a long, long time by a British govt and its backers who have been disingenuous to the people who have scrutinised their intentions, their comments, their promises and we are gradually discovering that it is utter BULLSHIT by people who are now deliberately "batting away" all attempts to scrutinise them even more than before and expose their true intentions that were always suspected for a very long time. The "shit will surely hit the fan" at some stage or alternatively we may well discover that the British population has become predominantly subdued and passive towards an impending crisis that has never been seen before since the advent of WWII!

[hibeejim21]

Jeremy Corbyn launched a scathing personal attack on Boris Johnson over the way black and white children connected to class A drugs are treated by the government in the wake of the deportation of ex-offenders to Jamaica.

Speaking in the Commons, the Labour leader called out the prime minister over allegations of Johnson’s own drug use, saying: “If there was a case of a young white boy with blond hair who later dabbled in class A drugs, and conspired with a friend to beat up a journalist, would he deport that boy?

“Or is it one rule for black boys from the Caribbean and another for white boys from the United States?”





If only JC had taken the gloves off a lot earlier.....who knows ??

[0762]

Ha ha ha Johnson is a racist and there is absolutely no doubt about it!! All one has to do to confirm it is study a huge list of comments from this bigoted moron that extend back years and cover extreme comments against Scots, Muslims, Liverpudlians and any other groups of people who Johnson has some kinda ignorant "beef" about!! Also he is not the only RW racist within that "nest of vipers" that one calls a Brexit British govt. Why is this scumbag of a man a British PM?????? BAFFLING BUT THAT IS THE BIGGEST LAUGH!!!

[0762]

Breaking news in the aftermath of Johnson's cabinet reshuffle - Sajid Javid "jumps ship" and resigns! It transpires that Johnson tried to foist his assigned special advisers on Javid, a "power grab", the CofE having none of it and "offsky". The "cracks" are already beginning to show for Johnson after a number of weeks of unimpressive decisions, comments and bullshit!!

[hibeejim21]

Quite clear that Cummings is calling the shots. He is the de facto PM. He doesn't need the hardcore brexiteers anymore so its bye-bye time.

What can possibly go wrong ?