They let Carillion failure hurt us all
Once again the Tories show, despite their claim we can trust them with the economy, that they are really a danger to us all. Their policy is to reward their pals and backers with huge contracts, no matter how poorly their firms are performing.
Carillion now joins Virgin and Stagecoach in begging the Government for aid to prop up contracts they cannot complete.
No doubt those responsible for these failures, the chief executives, will walk away from their disasters while their employees and we, the taxpayers, pay for their greed.
Public services will lose out as the Tories carry on with a ‘privatisation is best’ policy, proving their muchpublicised long-term economic plan is nothing more than a joke. Andrew Miller, Doncaster
# Bosses taking fortunes out of companies, even when they’re losing money hand-overfist, cannot be allowed. Then we get fortunes paid out in dividends, and the taxpayer takes over the burden when they fail. It must end. Carillion had been in trouble for some time and the Tories were terrified they’d go under on their watch, so they continued to award them Government contracts hoping they would survive. Its pension black hole will be filled by the taxpayer, while the chiefs trousered fortunes. And the Tories tell us capitalism works. Remember the banking crisis, anyone? Time for change. Alex Crichton, Rotherham
# The Tories slagged off Labour for the financial crash, but can anyone tell me where you will find a bigger bunch of money wasters than the present Government, which has given enormous contracts to a company that more or less advertised it was on a downward slope? It’s time this Government was removed from office. Harold Ennis, Ruardean, Glos # It beggars belief that this Tory Government has given contracts for running prisons, building hospitals and schools, and HS2 to one firm. Nobody with any sense puts all their eggs in one basket.
This Government is in tatters no matter how many Cabinet reshuffles Theresa May has.
The country lurches from one mess to another, God help us all. Dorothy Baston Stockport, Gtr Manchester
# It’s disgusting that workers suffer loss of pay almost immediately after a firm collapses. These are the men and women putting food on the table for their family. Yet the fat cat bosses, as we see with the Carillion case, with their ridiculous salaries, are still paid. It’s down to cronyism. R Kearney, Salford
# So, the Government awarded contracts to Carillion, despite the company issuing profit warnings. To my mind this calls for an immediate Select Committee investigation. This is our tax cash that is being poured down the drain. Liz Nicolls Shaugh Prior, Devon