virgin

[Harbourwoodwork]

who got the brown envelope? this is like some third world carry on

 

[alumni]

who got the brown envlope? this is like some third world carry on

Or perhaps it was just another fck up by the DoT.
Heads rolled did they not?

 

[AronSearle]

Governments/councils/civil servants can't pick winners, they don't do business.

Either privatise the rails or don't, but this mish mash we have is rubbish.

 

[Space cat]

who got the brown envlope?

I admit it; corruption was the first thing that crossed my mind but now I suspect simple incompetence. Look at it this way. If there was anybody in Whitehall capable of reading the small print in those bids and making a properly informed judgement, we could just let them the run the line themselves and keep the profit for the us, the taxpayers.

The problem, as we are forever being told by about half of our elected politicians, is that civil servants are a bunch of pen-pushers with no idea how to run a business. Now you either believe that or you don't but, if you do, how do you expect them to know whether Virgin or FirstGroup or Triang-Hornby is best able to do the job?

Governments/councils/civil servants can't pick winners, they don't do business.

How very true.

 

[gasbanni]

who got the brown envlope?

I admit it; corruption was the first thing that crossed my mind but now I suspect simple incompetence. Look at it this way. If there was anybody in Whitehall capable of reading the small print in those bids and making a properly informed judgement, we could just let them the run the line themselves and keep the profit for the us, the taxpayers.

The problem, as we are forever being told by about half of our elected politicians, is that civil servants are a bunch of pen-pushers with no idea how to run a business. Now you either believe that or you don't but, if you do, how do you expect them to know whether Virgin or FirstGroup or Triang-Hornby is best able to do the job?

Governments/councils/civil servants can't pick winners, they don't do business.

How very true.

Come on don't be naive you know they'd pick Hornby and have a consultation process to discover why passenger numbers had dropped !!!!

 

[AronSearle]

http://johnredwoodsdiary.com/

What is curious is the attention the Opposition and media will give to this relatively minor losss – a mere £40 million – when they conspire to ignore the much larger losses I have been talking about revealed in the nationalised Network Rail accounts through dealing in derivatives. Why is a £40 m bungle on contract award a scandal, and another £560 million loss last year on derivatives all part of good management? I have released the information about the losses on local radio (BBC) and through the Wokingham Times, as well as on this site. The national media is not interested.