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Old July 15th 19, 10:30 AM posted to uk.transport.london
Marland Marland is offline
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First recorded activity at LondonBanter: Feb 2018
Posts: 220
Default ES: Crossrail at risk of being delayed even further

Recliner wrote:

When did Crossrail start?

When were the contractors appointed?


Exactly, he had nothing to do with appointing the contractors, and nor
did his predecessor. Would anyone *want* politicians choosing
contractors?


Amongst the present generation of Career politicians are there any who do
have the the right experience.

Earnest Marples used the laxer requirements of the era to take advantage of
his position to the benefit of the company he had created but at least did
actually deliver.

Since then with rules on expenses, conflicts of interest,shareholdings in
firms that may benefit from a government decision coming under scrutiny
being much more stringent such a suitably qualified person may
decide the risk of falling foul of any and end up in front of a committee
to answer questions or even face criminal charges just isn’t worth the
bother, remuneration in a political position may appear high by the
standards of many but compared to what high earners in business can
accumulate it isn’t that spectacular.

Ultimately though what would serve the public interest better. A roguish
Politicians from the business world who steers the public’s moneys into
interests he his known and associated with but delivers or the career
politicians many of whom seem to have progressed from top end public
school ,University,lightish jobs such as journalism until they get chosen
as an MP on personality rather than experience and then work their way up
into higher positions.

If a project costs the taxpayer £50 billion and the minister happens to
have have a few shares in the construction interests that built it does
that matter in the bigger picture if the project is achieved on time and in
budget compared to one where the the same £50 billion has been spent but
due to lack of suitable knowledge amongst the career politicians who have
to depend on what they are told by others the project doesn’t run smooth
and needs more taxpayers money to complete.

Perhaps the cost of a few duck houses or similar silly abuses of the system
would be worth paying if persons of the right calibre are attracted to
become decision makers in politics.


GH