For many months MSP Alex Neil has been simmering away in the media as a regular commentator on the spiralling cost of the London Olympics and the effect it will have draining resources from Scotland. Yesterday the debate came to the boil with cross media news reports on the loss Scottish charities and other organisations will suffer as a result. The number of comments to an article by Michael Howie from The Scotsman underline a public discontent to match.
Unfortunately the way the figures are represented, perhaps that should be unrepresented, hide the true enormity of a blunder of gold medal proportions. The Millennium Dome is to be used as part of the Olympic programme. On the basis of the competition criteria for the Millennium Dome, obtained by Perth MP Pete Wishart, the winning proposal should have been that of the global environmental management centre. The proposal the Government's own consultants, quite rightly, wanted to back and as recent media and political attention on the environment as shown, would now be generating the £50 billion per year figure presented in the submission; supplying the solutions to the planet's ecological challenge such as climate change.
Over 10 years, leading up to the Olympics, £500 billion lost to the UK economy, on an approximately 10% of the population pro rata basis of the UK, £50 billion lost to Scotland, by virtue of deciding to use the Dome as part of the Olympic bid instead. Add on to this the environmental and social costs. The environment proposal did contain an early warning and alert system for natural hazards. How many more would now be alive from the South East Asia Tsunami, hurricane Katrina and the numerous other extreme events since, (500,000?), if the Government hadn't gambled on taking the venue/casino option?
If the 2012 Olympics ever go ahead the real full audit of the cost to the UK will be £500 billion and lives around the world. It would be unbelievable, if it wasn't true.
Unfortunately the way the figures are represented, perhaps that should be unrepresented, hide the true enormity of a blunder of gold medal proportions. The Millennium Dome is to be used as part of the Olympic programme. On the basis of the competition criteria for the Millennium Dome, obtained by Perth MP Pete Wishart, the winning proposal should have been that of the global environmental management centre. The proposal the Government's own consultants, quite rightly, wanted to back and as recent media and political attention on the environment as shown, would now be generating the £50 billion per year figure presented in the submission; supplying the solutions to the planet's ecological challenge such as climate change.
Over 10 years, leading up to the Olympics, £500 billion lost to the UK economy, on an approximately 10% of the population pro rata basis of the UK, £50 billion lost to Scotland, by virtue of deciding to use the Dome as part of the Olympic bid instead. Add on to this the environmental and social costs. The environment proposal did contain an early warning and alert system for natural hazards. How many more would now be alive from the South East Asia Tsunami, hurricane Katrina and the numerous other extreme events since, (500,000?), if the Government hadn't gambled on taking the venue/casino option?
If the 2012 Olympics ever go ahead the real full audit of the cost to the UK will be £500 billion and lives around the world. It would be unbelievable, if it wasn't true.
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