Chris Grayling - is there no beginning to this mans talents?

aguero93:20 said:
I'm aware of the ownership structure, it's still not as clear cut as clicking your fingers and having chartered captains and ships though and with the rush to award the contracts it's perfectly acceptable to want proof that they can provide the ships. It would have made a lot more sense to contract someone like P&O or Stena.
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I don't know much about the shipping industry, just thought the link would provide further context to the decision generally.
 
Damocles said:
I don't know much about the shipping industry, just thought the link would provide further context to the decision generally.
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It's not just a shipping industry thing, it's an outsourcing and subcontracting thing in general across businesses where large sums of money are involved. Very few airlines buy their own planes etc even if they employ the staff and ships are more individually tailored.
It's still a very, very strange decision with many other ferry charter companies in a better position to handle the contract at least in the short term (and this is a short term measure by nature).
 
Damocles said:
I don't know much about the shipping industry, just thought the link would provide further context to the decision generally.
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I think it does thanks and is not complimentary to Grayling. One thing I picked up is that ferries are constructed or adapted for specific ports - therefore it seems these people have a very short space of time to contract a number of suitable seaworthy vessels that can be licensed to run out of Ramsgate which are either by some coincidence already adapted for the ramps at a port that hasn't been in service for 5 years or can be adapted in that short space of time. Given Graylings track record I will leave the reader to judge the likelihood of success in the relevant time at the agreed cost.

Unfortunately for Grayling the port is currently mothballed so he can't blame a huge increase in the contracted place on striking mariners or port officials.
 
urban genie said:
Useless
****
****
****y **** ****.

Today on the trains, blaming staff for being paid as the reason for price rises being needed and then admitting it isn't value for money.
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And lying this morning on the radio that fares went up 10% in 2010 under Labour.

Actually, this evening he was blaming privatisation - or at least the system the Tories invented.
 
aguero93:20 said:
It's not just a shipping industry thing, it's an outsourcing and subcontracting thing in general across businesses where large sums of money are involved. Very few airlines buy their own planes etc even if they employ the staff and ships are more individually tailored.
It's still a very, very strange decision with many other ferry charter companies in a better position to handle the contract at least in the short term (and this is a short term measure by nature).
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If the firm wanted to reinstate ferries out of Ramsgate, perhaps they thought this would pay their costs of the infrastructure at the harbour.
 
Vic said:
And lying this morning on the radio that fares went up 10% in 2010 under Labour.

Actually, this evening he was blaming privatisation - or at least the system the Tories invented.
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it annoys me when this happens and the interviewer seldom challenges any politicians bullshit. You see their true colours when they mumble and bumble an answer when they are caught out.
 
Vic said:
If the firm wanted to reinstate ferries out of Ramsgate, perhaps they thought this would pay their costs of the infrastructure at the harbour.
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Right up Graylings street then. Another private transport system that benefits from public subsidy.........its just nobody calls it that. Effectively this company will be using tax payers money to re-open Ramsgate Ferry terminal? Handy for a business that was it four months ago had £66 in the bank to get £13.8m of taxpayer money eh?
 
Vic said:
And lying this morning on the radio that fares went up 10% in 2010 under Labour.

Actually, this evening he was blaming privatisation - or at least the system the Tories invented.
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There's always more to it - and that works both ways in situations like this.

A major reason for commuter misery at present (rightly or wrongly) is due to widespread strikes.
The strikes are taking place because unions are demanding a 20% plus pay rise which is clearly never going to happen and would be laughed out of town in any other industry.
Even to offer the payrise that's on the table and been rejected is going to have a huge financial impact which needs to be mitigated somehow.

I'm not here to defend the operators or government (there has clearly been cock ups along the way) but to totally ignore the role unions are playing in this by capitalising on the situation to the detriment of commuters is fairly naive imo.
 
mcfcphil said:
There's always more to it - and that works both ways in situations like this.

A major reason for commuter misery at present (rightly or wrongly) is due to widespread strikes.

The strikes are taking place because unions are demanding a 20% plus pay rise which is clearly never going to happen and would be laughed out of town in any other industry.

Even to offer the payrise that's on the table and been rejected is going to have a huge financial impact which needs to be mitigated somehow.

I'm not here to defend the operators or government (there has clearly been cock ups along the way) but to totally ignore the role unions are playing in this by capitalising on the situation to the detriment of commuters is fairly naive imo.
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I agree, for the last month I quite simply have not been able to get into Manchester on a Saturday afternoon from where I live because of strikes. Before the strikes I could but now I have to drive and that costs me more than a ticket.

The ticket price increases are unwelcome but it was highly ironic yesterday that the first people to come onto the TV were union bosses who have been directly responsible for the recent nightmare it has been. The whole thing is highly choreographed and politicised to cause maximum disruption and put the negative perception of that on the operators.

Personally I don't care too much about prices because I only use the trains every now and then however to me having a service that runs is more important and recently it hasn't because of strikes and unionised disruption. The unions are never going to be able to come on and expect any sympathy from commuters who just want to get to work or get to wherever they are going.
 
aguero93:20 said:
It's not just a shipping industry thing, it's an outsourcing and subcontracting thing in general across businesses where large sums of money are involved. Very few airlines buy their own planes etc even if they employ the staff and ships are more individually tailored.
It's still a very, very strange decision with many other ferry charter companies in a better position to handle the contract at least in the short term (and this is a short term measure by nature).
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It isn’t strange in the slightest.

The necessary capacity can be provided by the other two companies. However neither of them is British, and there are no other british companies with the necessary capacity. Rather than have the matter handled purely by EU companies, for political reasons Chris Grayling wanted at least one British company coming to the country’s rescue.

So he chose a starter company whose t’s and c’s suggest that delivering pizza is more their thing.
 
Its starting to look like it would almost be better for Grayling if the directors were his brother and his wifes cousin. Instead Seabourne Freight appears to be run by a guy who uses two different Christian names and has gone bust twice in recent years. Government scrutiny and inter-departmental consultation doesn't seem to be quite how Grayling would have us believe either.
 
A director of said ferry company just happens to be a major Tory party diner. Shocker eh...
 
mat said:
A director of said ferry company just happens to be a major Tory party diner. Shocker eh...
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Not really - just standard operating procedure................and people say the EU is corrupt - its beyond fucking laughing TBH.
 
Rich Tory supporter in supporting the Tory party shocker.

Next weeks expose is Unions in both financial and political support of the Labour party.
 
blueinsa said:
Rich Tory supporter in supporting the Tory party shocker.

Next weeks expose is Unions in both financial and political support of the Labour party.
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No Tory supporter and donor who runs a shell company is given £14m contract by Tory Govt to run a service they are not equipped to provide. Rich Tory supporting the Tories isn't a story - Seabourne Freight, its owners, Grayling and now links to the Tory party are the story.
 
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