Billionaire tries not to create the annual emissions of an entire family in one day challenge (nightmare mode)
This is the best summary I could come up with:
In December, the MoD advertised a tender for a new contract for what is officially known as the Rotary Wing Command Support Air Transport Helicopter Service, worth between £30m and £40m, and running to the end of 2027.
With provision for up to 500 hours of use a year, the contractor would provide helicopters, crewed by RAF personnel and based at the Northolt airbase in west London, to take them any distance up to 250 miles.
However, Sunak has been criticised for helicopter trips of little more than 100 miles (160km), to places easily reachable by train, and it is possible that ministers were fearful of a backlash if they signed a contract costing £30m or more.
The PM’s helicopter addiction has cut through with the public as proof not just that he is totally out of touch, but that he doesn’t think he should have to use the same roads and railways as the rest of us.
In May, he flew to and from Southampton to visit a pharmacy for an NHS-related announcement, a 160-mile round trip where the train takes an hour and 15 minutes each way.
For personal use, the prime minister previously took private helicopters from London to his North Yorkshire constituency, and to visit the billionaire Arora family, who live 2 miles from Manchester airport.
The original article contains 484 words, the summary contains 220 words. Saved 55%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
To show us what a decent and honest bloke he is, why not pay for them himself? He can afford it.
Which other leader of government pays for their own transportation for official engagements? Or previous UK PM if you want? Or, fuck it, which Labour PM if you really want?
Fair enough they’re trying to save public money but are you suggesting that politicians should self fund their travel for official work? Or is this simply he’s Rishi and wealthy so I don’t like him. Which, of so, fair play to you.
I think the argument might be that we’re a relatively small nation. Anywhere he needs to get to, or would likely need to get to could be accessed by road, or train.
I think within reason yes. But if you can fit a meeting in Scotland plus a meeting on London in on the same day by air then why wouldn’t you? Personally I want my PM to be working hard day and night not sitting in cars.
Of course if we had decent fast trains up and down and side to side for the country then it would be different. But we’ll never have those 🤗.
On Tuesday, Sunak used a helicopter for an engagement in Norwich, a trip of little more than 100 miles. In May, he flew to and from Southampton to visit a pharmacy for an NHS-related announcement, a 160-mile round trip where the train takes an hour and 15 minutes each way.
We have decently fast trains to a lot of places, and he is taking the helicopter for journeys that wouldn’t be that long on the train. Plus you can actually do some work while riding the train, which is difficult in a car and pretty impossible in a helicopter.
That’s a fair point. If he can take a fast train then cool. I’m not arguing for complete helicopter travel everywhere. Just that where it makes sense he should. Obviously where it doesn’t he shouldn’t. I don’t think that’s controversial.
There’s this amazing thing called Teams we’ve all learned to use over the last few years that means you don’t have to be at a meeting physically anymore.
I look forward to the G20 Zoom summit…
No one is advocating for him to travel by train and road across the world, just when it’s reasonable to do so domestically.
And if it’s not worth the hassle it takes to get there, maybe it could be fine over the internet instead.
Maybe I misjudged the tone but it seems people are happy to travel large distances by plane helicopter only when those large distances are abroad. Why not when they are domestic too?
I take your point about over the internet meetings but in the world of politics where human interaction is key i think it is worth the hassle to travel. That being said… maybe I’ll wake up in a world where G20 is done over Zoom. What a world…
“And can we have the view of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom please… Oh!”
“Erm, I am the Prime Minister, I’m not a cat”
The cat would do a better job.
Or previous UK PM if you want? Or, fuck it, which Labour PM if you really want?
Literally none of them ever took a helicopter or jet everywhere they went (and/or for ridiculously short trips). Even BoJo the clown and piggy fucker Cameron would take public transport, what makes Sunak too good for it?
The real question you should be asking instead of creating this strawman is why do you feel the need to suck the boot that is stomping on your (and our) neck?
The Lord Mayor of London has to pay for his own transport
Not that it makes your point less valid. Just a fun bit of trivia!
That is fun!
He doesn’t need to fly around in a helicopter for official work. Case in point he currently doesn’t and it is fine and other PMs haven’t and they were fine.
Besides helicopters are one of the least safe forms of transport, and while most people think that he would probably become more productive if he were laminated across the ground, it’s probably not a good look.
helicopters are one of the least safe forms of transport
I, for one, am all for Rishi taking the helicopter down the pub every night if he wants then
He really should if the transport is unreasonable. There are occasions when time is a issue due to scheduling. that would be an ok use of the helicopter. Sunak wants to use one willy nilly, as such he should fund that himself. He was quite happy to fund his own transport when he went to the US to talk to healthcare companies.
Previous PMs didn’t use helicopters and private planes, they used trains and roads like the rest of us. I’m happy to pay for a train fit Sunek, not a helicopter.
Actually they did. Here’s Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair doing exactly this.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2006/apr/12/uk.freedomofinformation
And being heavily criticised for it.
I despise them all. If they can afford it, they should pay. Otherwise they should be on a cheaper option. It would do wonders for their esteem (and let’s face it they need it) if for once one of them (and this could include the royals) ‘You know what? I’m going to pay for this myself’. Then watch the scramble as they all try to out do one another by coughing up.
But they won’t. And that’s one of the reasons that I wish the worst possible things to happen to them.
Isn’t this the same argument of paying MPs less than they currently earn? We despise them so they should earn less and pay for themselves? The counter is that only the already wealthy ones can afford to be a MP and you get predominantly land owning Tories and Barrister Labour types applying.
If you’re doing public service (such as being an MP or PM) I don’t think you should pay for travel whilst doing your job. That’s not to say that costs shouldn’t be kept to a minimum and people shouldn’t pull the piss - it’s public money after all. But it’s a far cry from forcing them to pay for their transport.
If you’re doing public service (such as being an MP or PM) I don’t think you should pay for travel whilst doing your job. That’s not to say that costs shouldn’t be kept to a minimum and people shouldn’t pull the piss
Exactly, so he should be on the train, if he wants to fly, the fucker can pay for it himself.
No. He should assess the most appropriate mode of transport given the circumstances and the cost to the tax payer. That’s not always train. That’s not always helicopter. And it’s certainly not paying for official engagements himself either as that sets a precedent for all other public servants which will just price them out of doing the job.
LOL how is this so complicated?
Truly, a man of the people.
The real question is why to rent a chopper for £40m for a few years when RAF already has shit loads of choppers?
