Michael Gove calls for £60m distraction

Alex Hern asks what Michael Gove was thinking when he suggested spending £60m on a yacht for the queen.

 

The Guardian has got hold of a leaked email in which Michael Gove suggests buying the Queen a yacht to celebrate her golden jubilee.

The paper reports:

Gove at one point comes close to suggesting that Britain’s dire economic climate means that a large-scale celebration is required to lift the country’s spirits.

The education secretary writes: “In spite, and perhaps because of the austere times, the celebration should go beyond those of previous jubilees and mark the greater achievement that the diamond anniversary represents.”

The Liberal Democrats privately expressed surprise at the proposal, which is likely to cost at least £60 million, at a time of national austerity.

The £60 million figure comes from estimations made when HMS Britannia was decommissioned in 1997. Given the existence of inflation, it seems likely that the true cost would be vastly higher.

When considering giving the 27th richest woman in the world a free yacht, it might be worth looking at the value of that yacht in broader terms.

Considering the suggestion comes from Gove, he would probably know that that money would pay for his cash-strapped department to build two new schools, fund seven for a year, or pay the salary of 1,200 teachers for a year.

Looking at other topical funding crises, it would pay for 9230 people to receive the highest rates of DLA for a year, 38,461 pupils to receive the highest rate of EMA for a year, and three-quarters of the government’s cancelled loan to Sheffield Forgemasters.

It would also ‘pay’ for just under a quarter of the ‘cost’ of AV.

Downing Street have responded to the claim that the money may come from public funds by saying:

“I don’t think anyone is suggesting that.”

Call us conspiracists if you will, but a mysterious email containing a wild plan guaranteed to stoke outrage is leaked just in time for the Monday morning press storm, and then the government backtracks on it almost immediately. Today might be a good day to keep an eye out for buried bad news.

See also:

The best preventative medicine in the world can’t undo the damage of Osborne’s austerityDr Tristan Learoyd, November 2nd 2011

Clinton: UK’s austerity budget could mean deficit will increaseWill Straw, July 7th 2011

Monarchy “perpetuates inequality” says Plaid AMEd Jacobs, June 8th 2011

Weak EU growth reveals the price of austerityBen Fox, February 15th 2011

The new austerity of the Big SocietyAnna Coote, November 8th 2010

15 Responses to “Michael Gove calls for £60m distraction”

  1. Watching You

    Michael Gove calls for £60m distraction: http://t.co/vWbBYsV2 by @alexhern

  2. Ed's Talking Balls

    There are plenty of ways in which my taxes are wasted. Given that this was never going to happen, I can’t really get exercised by it. Housing benefit, however…

  3. Mr. Sensible

    Austerity? What austerity.

  4. What was hiding behind the boat: Information commissioner is investigating Gove | Left Foot Forward

    […] also: • Michael Gove calls for £60m distraction – Alex Hern, January 16th […]

  5. RobSimmons

    Michael Gove calls for £60m distraction: http://t.co/vWbBYsV2 by @alexhern

Comments are closed.