Put vanity projects on hold and help those in poverty instead

IN these desperate (for some) times is it not time the Government considered an embargo on vanity and historical projects, say for five years?

The money poured year after year, millions and billions at a time spent on historical and vanity projects eg £5bn on renovating Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament to name but two, should be used to make the country a better place to live.

By a better place I mean just somewhere to live itself and the pure shame and disgrace of often working people having to use foodbanks while even Heritage Lottery money alone could go a long way to helping them out.

How can our politicians hold their heads up when visiting other countries? Ah but they have never experienced poverty and never will.

I do appreciate that we want to preserve our history but surely preservation of our people should come first and repairs to buildings centuries old could surely wait another five or so years while we rectify the major problems of social degradation.

Just the Houses of Parliament cost could have built up to 1,000 social affordable houses not the so-called “affordable homes” tied in to property developers’ planning deals which will never be “affordable” to most low-paid workers.

There are heritage projects all over the UK going on where the requirement for first class trades and materials allow contractors and suppliers to print their own money almost with impunity because of the specialism.

Maybe if the Government doesn’t want to invest in social housing it could divert a few million to pump priming a sea defence/landfill/land reclamation scheme down the East coast instead of stupidly just abandoning it when a scheme could be self-financing within two or three years.

Could anyone ever envision the Dutch just giving up one inch of land to the sea?

We really do need a shake-up, a proper look and prioritising of the use of our money, spending it where it will be of benefit for the many not just the elite few, which is often happening now.

How are the millions of people living in poverty ever going to see Buckingham Palace, Covent gardens or Shakespeare Theatre just a few examples of massive ongoing spending.

Many impoverished people can’t even afford the train fare to stately homes, palaces and museums let alone go in and even a cup of tea in some of those places is beyond reach of empty pockets.

I am not advocating abandoning our history or even our costly royalty but we must take a really good look at what we spend money on for the sake of the whole nation not just the few.

Then perhaps our politicians will genuinely be able to hold their heads up high.

Frank Mcconaghy, Hull.