‘The Tories can pay for it’: Reactions to Johnson’s new flagship

Hundreds of people have expressed their views virtually after Boris Johnson announced a new flagship which he insisted will promote the “best of British”.

Johnson said the new vessel, worth up to £200 million, will reflect the UK’s “burgeoning status as a great, independent maritime trading nation”.

Some users have pointed out the news about the ‘Royal yacht’ and Johnson’s secret wedding are distracting public debates over recent revelations made by Dominic Cummings.

Journalist Otto English said the Royal Family are “very sensibly” distancing themselves from the proposed Royal yacht.

A senior royal told The Sunday Times it is “too grand” a symbol for use by the monarchy in the modern age, adding: “It is not something we have asked for.”

Top 10 reactions

Oh look everyone is talking about a Royal yacht and a secret wedding in the Sunday papers and not wallpaper, Matt Hancock, and deaths in care homes. I wonder how that happened?

— John Russell (@EarlRussellLD) May 30, 2021

So we’re going to buy a “royal yacht” that the royals don’t even want. pic.twitter.com/8udT5EsCm7

— @[email protected] (@SeanJonesKC) May 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/RD_HaIe/status/1398925419030667267?s=20

Reading in the Sunday papers that Boris Johnson has approved a new £200million ‘Brexit' flagship to succeed the Royal Yacht Britannia to ‘promote the UK brand across the world’. The UK brand?, 14m people live in poverty while NHS workers are forced to use food banks to survive.

— Paul Delaney (@coaimpaul) May 30, 2021

Children are starving. People are being evicted. Mass redundancies are potentially just over the horizon. But yeh buy a posh boat. https://t.co/hlSKXBaDJO

— Olly Armstrong (@Olly4Everyone) May 30, 2021

There's still Grenfell-style flammable cladding on thousands of people's homes, there's thousands of families without a home, but there's money for this!? https://t.co/ofiDpRnzqm

— Andrew Fisher (@FisherAndrew79) May 30, 2021

I don’t see how it’s a royal yacht if the Palace doesn’t approve it. It seems a remarkably old-fashioned, environmentally unfriendly and over-priced approach to international diplomacy. Yet another vanity project https://t.co/XkmaI0wJO9

— Chris Bryant (@RhonddaBryant) May 30, 2021

https://twitter.com/H_arryyy/status/1398942884552925188?s=20

If the tories want it, they can pay for it. https://t.co/5ISzOPyHWJ

— Ian Morris 🐀 (@IanMorris78) May 30, 2021

You’d think £200 million would get you a better looking royal yacht than this. https://t.co/C1F8sjPzx2

— Matt Ford (@fordm) May 30, 2021

Shadow Treasury chief secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “Right now our country faces huge challenges, and there’s no sign the government has a plan for the recovery.

“We want to see public money used for targeted investment in a green economic recovery, resources for our NHS, and supporting families to succeed.

“If this ship is going to be part of a genuine plan for Britain’s future, the government must set out clearly how it will boost trade, jobs and growth in every corner of our country.

“We’d want to see it built in Britain, supporting jobs and skills in shipyards here, and with a real focus on value for money at every stage.”

Johnson

Johnson said: “This new national flagship will be the first vessel of its kind in the world, reflecting the UK’s burgeoning status as a great, independent maritime trading nation.

“Every aspect of the ship, from its build to the businesses it showcases on board, will represent and promote the best of British – a clear and powerful symbol of our commitment to be an active player on the world stage.”

The announcement of the vessel comes at the end of a difficult week for the Prime Minister, which has seen him savaged by former aide Dominic Cummings, who claimed the Government was responsible for tens of thousands of needless deaths during the coronavirus pandemic.

Related: Boris Johnson: New national flagship to promote ‘best of British’ around the world

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