Pfi Number Crunching – Source Private Eye

[Hymie]

500 - PFI projects signed while Gordon Brown was chancellor of the exchequer, costing the taxpayers around £250bn in total

461 - Pages in Brown’s biography ‘My Life, Our Times’

0 - Mentions in book of PFI

[Gromit]

Saw that.

[Guilbert53]

Another example of Labour making it sound good that they are building more hospitals and schools etc.

But then not caring one jot of the bill it leaves the country with.

I have said for years, the Tories always have to come in and sort out the mess Labour have left, then the Tories get critisized for "austerity" because they have to pay off Labour's huge debts.

[douglas9401]

£250bn? You'll look back and laugh at how you were aghast at such a piddling amount once the brains trust has bought their way out of the Club of Europe.

[Kromovaracun]

The PFI scandal has been actively encouraged by governments of all stripes, including this one. It is a crippling loss of money to the taxpayer and is a prime example of how public services are being slowly transformed into engines for transferring public money to private pockets. It is an absolute disgrace and is absolutely fundamental to the constant funding problems and deficiencies in our public services today. The costs dwarf health tourism, immigration, and all the other usual distractions by a gigantic margin.

Nobody ever talks about it though, it's not politically convenient.

[Peter Pedant]

yup knew that at the time ( mid 2000s )
I think even Broon admits that it wasnt his greatest hour

( or perhaps that was screwing the pensions so they all had to close but not of course his own pension)

[Peter Pedant]

the overall figure strikes me as low
following a FOI request to Manchester royal Infirmary ( CMFT )
they would pay £50m y-1 for 40 years
which is 2 bn for one isnt it?

so 500 would be around £1000 bn

sort of much more the figure that was bandied around when we were forced at gunpoint to join.

yeah and I know by comparison Brexit looks cheap

[Peter Pedant]

// It is an absolute disgrace and is absolutely fundamental to the constant funding problems and deficiencies in our public services today. //

this was adequately aired at the time

and our masters at the Ministry just said - we're doing it

[ToraToraTora]

we ain't paying £250bn doug.

Brown was a total disaster, beside this he plundered pensions and sold off the gold for a shilling CWT!

[youngmafbog]

Still going to be a close call between him and May for most useless and spineless PM though.

I guess at least Theresa didnt Bottle it like Brown did.

[ToraToraTora]

she missed the chance to tell the EU to go forth and multiply. Can you imagine TGL putting up with all these EU charlatans?

[lindapalmara]

M husband worked in a PFI building. If he wanted his computer screen cleaned he had to call the contractor's maintenance team and it cost £40. Replacing a lightbulb cost £350! Most of the land from the old building then belonged to the contractor and was sold off to built loads of houses. These maintenance payments last 3 years.

[lindapalmara]

I'm glad someone mentioned the man who stole our pensions, sold our gold reserves at car boot prices and an electorate a bigot! As well as leaving our troops short of equipment in the Iraq war...........