Dear Tessa Jowell,
Please don’t patronise us. Sometimes I really wish politicians would admit when they’ve been caught out and apologise rather than trying to weasel your way out of a situation. When the Public Accounts Committee finds that you “misled” us about the costs of the Olympics, there are two possibilities - 1. You lied to us, 2. You accidentally missed out £5.3 billion of taxpayers’ money when doing your calculations - neither of which fill me with confidence.
It is hard to believe that your calculations managed to miss out such an enormous number of “foreseeable” costs. The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee said that “at the very best [the estimates] were economical with the actualité, as a minister once put it, in order to win support for the bid. Parliament and the public were undoubtedly misled over the true costs of the Olympic project.” In my eyes, this is about as damning as it can get. In addition, private sector backing for the Olympics is almost 80% below your original estimates and you clearly feel that raiding the National Lottery Fund (created to help communities and deprived areas around the country) of £675 million is perfectly acceptable. To then suggest that the international exchange rates and the July 7th bombings were responsible for your ‘miscalculations’ is absolutely astonishing.
Of course, Uncle Gordon can’t sack you because he can’t afford to lose a high profile figure while getting a kicking in the polls. Even so, your performance thus far has been dismal and I hope for everyone’s sake that you somehow manage to turn this disaster into something respectable. Please remember that it’s not just your reputation on the line - it’s the reputation of this whole country.
Yours disrespectfully,
A.Tory
6 responses so far ↓
Candid // April 22, 2008 at 1:33 pm
It is a shocking misdemeaner! As if Britain doesn’t spend /waste enough money on sport. Why is this money not chanelled into something important like nuclear fusion research and development and the old moaners favourites, education and health etc.
The Olympics is just not that important and to waste so much money at a time when our economy is not looking so rosey is quite frankly stupid!
Letters From A Tory // April 22, 2008 at 1:40 pm
An extra £5 billion would certainly pay for a lot of brand new state-of-the-art hospitals and schools.
Glenn // April 22, 2008 at 5:13 pm
Stop this fiasco now.
Give the Olympic organising committee a call and get them to give the whole fiasco over to Paris, they wanted it more than us anyway. If it is to continue in London then all the politicos and athletes who were canvassing for the Olympics in London should underwrite the balance from their original estimate with their own money and remove the Tax payer’s exposure to another waste of money.
By the way no politicos or athletes who were involved with the original bid should be permitted to make so much as a single penny form this fiasco, and that includes any retired athletes who are now lords, sirs or dames.
Letters From A Tory // April 22, 2008 at 5:22 pm
Even though I can see the argument for having the Games in terms of international exposure, I refuse to believe that it will anything other than a financial catastrophe for the British public (and Londoners in particular). All the money being poured into it could be used so much better.
I would much rather Paris have it as well.
Wolfie // April 23, 2008 at 8:45 am
I’m really looking forward to the 2013 Olympics.
Of course I won’t be able to see it in person as I’ll be destitute by then and subsidised tickets will only be available for ethnic minorities and political cronies.
Letters From A Tory // April 23, 2008 at 9:36 am
Ha. Maybe giving free tickets for the Olympics will be part of Gordon Brown’s ‘rescue package’ for those hit worst by his 10p income tax fiasco?
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