Plans for a new royal yacht - Politics Forum.org | PoFo

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By Otebo
#13874790
The Guardian wrote:Royal yacht backers to launch public appeal for funds
Charity behind project to build new vessel to solicit donations from public and companies rather than seek government money

The backers of a new national flagship to be used by the royal family are to launch a public appeal for funds after they decided against seeking government money.

The £80m project originated as a replacement for the Royal Yacht Britannia and has won the private backing of the Queen and Prince Philip, according to project insiders; but construction is to be funded by members of the public and corporate sponsors.

The proposed 157m-sailing ship is to double as both a training vessel for young people and secure accommodation for members of the royal family when they are abroad.

The charity behind the project, Future Ship Project 21st Century, said it hopes public interest around the Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations in June will help fill the project's coffers.

The prospect of a vessel designed in part to host the royals being funded by the public at a time of austerity could cause political embarrassment, and Downing Street has been quick to say there will be no government money for the project, despite the suggestion by the education secretary, Michael Gove, that might be a possibility.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on whether it approved of public fundraising for a ship to be used by the royal family or if the palace would contribute.

"The Queen's office is aware of the project's existence," a palace aide said. "We are also aware that the prime minister has sent a message of support for the initiative to the project organisers."

Leading British companies will also be asked to donate funds in exchange for naming rights to various decks and facilities on board. Companies listed in the FTSE 100 will be approached, said Rear Admiral David Bawtree, chairman of the FSP21 consortium, leaving open the possibility that firms from British American Tobacco to Marks and Spencer could be asked to contribute to the royal vessel.

So far two unnamed Canadian businessmen have pledged a possible £10m, but there are no other firm offers as yet.

"We will go for national fundraising and I hope that members of the public will contribute to this," said Bawtree.

"People will support this, as I have seen when I have given talks about the project. The jubilee also lends itself to a national appeal."

As well as Bawtree, a former commander of the Portsmouth naval base, the project organisers include Colonel John Blashford-Snell, who in 1968 organised the first descent of the Blue Nile at the request of Haile Selassie, the emperor of Ethiopia, and Maldwin Drummond, a past Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron. They intend to invite 220 young people on board for three-month training voyages and also use the ship for environmental surveys.

The decision to launch a national appeal comes after David Cameron gave his backing for the project, a key step in securing commercial sponsorship. David Willetts, the universities minister, had written to the prime minister urging him to support the four-sail ship after he was lobbied by Bawtree.

Gove also urged Cameron to back the project and called for "a gift from the nation to her majesty" to mark her 60 years on the throne.

The ship's designer, Colin Mudie, said he had included a helipad to land twin-engine helicopters used by the royal family. There will be two VIP suites with sufficient security to host royalty and the vessel will also be equipped for industrial and commercial exhibitions and conferences, and provide corporate entertainment facilities.

"We of course kept the royal family informed, particularly because of Prince Philip's links to sail training," said Rosemary Mudie, partner in the ship design practice.

"We always understood they approved of it but couldn't be seen to be saying it was a good idea for obvious reasons."

The ship's backers are understood to be keen for the vessel to be built in the UK and that goal would be jeopardised if the project received government money because tenders would have to be sought from across the European Union to meet public procurement rules.


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I like this scheme. Calling it a royal yacht conjures up images of the Windsors living the high life on a floating palace, that isn't what it's about. If we became a republic tomorrow I'd still say go ahead and build this. What we're talking about here is a national flagship, a floating embassy representing Britain around the world. A country has to project the right image, and we used to do that when Britannia sailed into port or the Prime Minister walked down the steps of Concorde. Now he is more likely to be seen staggering off an EasyJet flight and this great maritime will soon be struggling to keep up with Mr Abramovich's personal fleet. A ship like this will pay for itself countless times over. Britannia was an brilliant tool for boosting trade.

Considering the ludicrous amount being spent just on the Olympics opening ceremony, I don't see why at least some public money couldn't be found. But if it's built with private money why not?
#13874795
Haha it is gonna be interesting to see how much money they can collect when it is voluntary, I have a feeling people wont be that supportive about the monarchy when they have to open up their wallets voluntarily.
#13874801
I think £1 per head is what's required.
I'm good for a fiver.

I'm cetainly more up for the Windsors swanning around in it than anyone else.
I won't donate any money at all for a government perk.
#13874822
The ClockworkRat wrote:You're wrong, Kman. There are many people in the UK who like the monarchy, and at least as many wealthy people who would want their names attached to this boat. I'd bet that there'll be no shortage of money for this.

At least there'll be some jobs coming out of this.


Yeye you keep thinking that but when people have to choose between a really nice item they want to get and giving money to a very wealthy lady so she can dilly about on her huge yacht then I have my doubts that all that many people will step up.

Personally I am saving up money for various things I really want to get and there is no way in hell I would give any money to the Queen of Denmark just so that the spoiled bitch can buy herself a huge yacht.
#13874831
People have a strange habit of paying for things of no personal material value, Kman. Some people will donate because it'll give them a sense of having contributed somehow to - as Rei puts it - the 'British project', whilst others will do so for the prestige. The latter is especially useful to some since it brings more custom.
#13874834
The Canadians have already offered £10 million so somebody is interested. I imagine that the majority of funding would come from wealthy individuals and large corporations rather than OAPs chipping in their winter fuel allowance.
#13874837
Otebo wrote:The Canadians have already offered £10 million so somebody is interested.


And by ''Canadians'' do you mean the canadian government stealing money from people or are these voluntary donations?
#13874838
Kman wrote:Yeye you keep thinking that but when people have to choose between a really nice item they want to get and giving money to a very wealthy lady so she can dilly about on her huge yacht then I have my doubts that all that many people will step up.

I think the Daily Mail has started a fund raising campaign. They have a massive readership.

And I don't think there all that many really nice things people can otherwise choose to do with £1.
I give more than that to tramps in the street. Spend more than that on beers at the bar for strangers.
Why not the Queen too.

I liked the last Royal Yacht.
#13874842
Kman wrote:And by ''Canadians'' do you mean the canadian government stealing money from people or are these voluntary donations?

So far two unnamed Canadian businessmen have pledged a possible £10m, but there are no other firm offers as yet.
Last edited by The Clockwork Rat on 17 Jan 2012 20:57, edited 1 time in total.
#13874847
According to ITV's Lucy Manning so far: 'Money from Canadian businesses £10mill, major donor pledged £5mill, Foyles 0.5mill for library.'. The Mail has also received donations as part of it's campaign.
#13875479
Kman wrote:Haha it is gonna be interesting to see how much money they can collect when it is voluntary, I have a feeling people wont be that supportive about the monarchy when they have to open up their wallets voluntarily.


Would you rather it was funded by public money? If I were a successful British businessman, I'd certainly want my brand's name associated with such project...

Political Interest wrote:What a waste of money.


It is not a waste of money, considering it helps reinforcing sovereignty. It would be a huge waste of money if it was public money funding it...
#13875481
Smertios wrote:Would you rather it was funded by public money? If I were a successful British businessman, I'd certainly want my brand's name associated with such project...


Ehm no? I want these monarchical institutions abolished completely, make them all 100% voluntarily funded and then we will see how much the people truely love them, when it is taken over taxes it is very hard to know.
#13875496
Kman wrote:Ehm no? I want these monarchical institutions abolished completely, make them all 100% voluntarily funded and then we will see how much the people truely love them, when it is taken over taxes it is very hard to know.


They are funded voluntarily. People voluntarily vote for political parties that then use their mandate to collect the taxes the people supported with their vote and pass on some of that funding to the monarchy.
#13875500
Kman wrote:Ehm no? I want these monarchical institutions abolished completely, make them all 100% voluntarily funded and then we will see how much the people truely love them, when it is taken over taxes it is very hard to know.


What makes you think the monarchy is funded by public money? :eh: The Civil List covers only the expenses with security (which is provided by the armed forces) and other staff - and those would exist even if there was no monarchy at all, since the palaces would still require the staff. The Queen herself gives all the money she gets from parliamentary annuities back to the government, every year. The royal family itself is funded by private money from their own estate...
#13875514
Thompson_NCL wrote:They are funded voluntarily. People voluntarily vote for political parties that then use their mandate to collect the taxes the people supported with their vote and pass on some of that funding to the monarchy.


Democracy is not an accurate way of calculating needs, politicians have a multitude of positions and programs they support and even if you can find someone that wants to abolish the monarchy said politician might want to preserve or create other programs you dont like.

The best democracy is the price system, it is a million times more accurate and votes dont get lost.

Smertios wrote:What makes you think the monarchy is funded by public money? The Civil List covers only the expenses with security (which is provided by the armed forces) and other staff - and those would exist even if there was no monarchy at all, since the palaces would still require the staff. The Queen herself gives all the money she gets from parliamentary annuities back to the government, every year. The royal family itself is funded by private money from their own estate...


British royalty has some pretty massive expenses I am sure so how the hell are they paying for all this themselves? Are they farming huge plots of land and selling the produce or wtf? All this ''we pay back our money to the government'' sounds like the same type of idiotic bullshit the Federal Reserve says with regards to how it gives back money to the treasury.
#13875527
Kman wrote:British royalty has some pretty massive expenses I am sure so how the hell are they paying for all this themselves? Are they farming huge plots of land and selling the produce or wtf? All this ''we pay back our money to the government'' sounds like the same type of idiotic bullshit the Federal Reserve says with regards to how it gives back money to the treasury.


http://www.royal.gov.uk/TheRoyalHousehold/Royalfinances/Sourcesoffunding/TheQueenspersonalwealth.aspx

The Queen herself is the owner of several private estates that are profitable. They are private property, not owned by the state. it is not different than anything Obama has registered to himself, really.

All the public money she gets comes from either the Civil List of the Duchy of Lancashire. And the money from both those sources go straight to paying personnel and taking care of palaces, gardens etc, as well as paying for transportation in the case of official visits etc. And the civil list includes the annual salary of the monarch as well, which is given back every year, since 1993, like I said before.

Seriously, presidencies normally cost much more than monarchies...
#13875538
Thompson_NCL wrote:
They are funded voluntarily. People voluntarily vote for political parties that then use their mandate to collect the taxes the people supported with their vote and pass on some of that funding to the monarchy.


I don't voluntarily vote for any political parties.
My taxation is taken from me under duress.

I'll happily donate towards the monarchy. But I resent being forced to pay for most of the state.

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