Government shelves £40m contract for helicopter transport for Rishi Sunak
Government shelves £40m contract for helicopter transport for Rishi Sunak
Tender to provide aircraft for PM and other ministers withdrawn after criticism of his short-distance flights
Billionaire tries not to create the annual emissions of an entire family in one day challenge (nightmare mode)
27This 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!
7To show us what a decent and honest bloke he is, why not pay for them himself? He can afford it.
5Which 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.
2Or 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?
4He 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.
2He 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.
1I 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.
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Truly, a man of the people.
4The real question is why to rent a chopper for £40m for a few years when RAF already has shit loads of choppers?
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