UK.Government buys £12m luxury New York apartment for diplomat.

[Guest makapaka]

29 minutes ago, Bargepole23 said:

Clearly, that's not true. Do you think a hotel would be happy to have a proliferation of CCTV cameras and a viewing suite installed?

So does every travelling politician / dignitary have a house purchased for them on their travels?

 

keep justifying the purchase of a £12m house for an individual with taxpayers money if you like - it’s up to you. 

[bendix 10]

1 hour ago, makapaka said:

So does every travelling politician / dignitary have a house purchased for them on their travels?

 

keep justifying the purchase of a £12m house for an individual with taxpayers money if you like - it’s up to you. 

It is not for a travelling politician.  It is for a permanent trade negotiator who would be living there full-time, until he is replaced by another who - guess what - would live there too.

 

You make it sound like they have bought this place for a guy who gets to keep it to hand down to his kids.

 

Simple fact:  The Foreign Office owns property around the world worth close to £2bn, used for embassies, ambassador residences, consular offices. 

In some expensive cities - like NY for example - they have rented instead.  For example,  it pays £1.4 a year in rent for consular offices on a fixed term lease of around 15 years.  Do the math and tell me again which strategy makes more sense.

 

 

 

 

[alchresearch 214]

2 hours ago, makapaka said:

So does every travelling politician / dignitary have a house purchased for them on their travels?

No, they probably stay in the  building their country already owns - like when Trump came to the UK he stayed at the US ambassador’s official residence, Winfield House, in Regent’s Park.

[Guest makapaka]

58 minutes ago, bendix said:

It is not for a travelling politician.  It is for a permanent trade negotiator who would be living there full-time, until he is replaced by another who - guess what - would live there too.

 

You make it sound like they have bought this place for a guy who gets to keep it to hand down to his kids.

 

Simple fact:  The Foreign Office owns property around the world worth close to £2bn, used for embassies, ambassador residences, consular offices. 

In some expensive cities - like NY for example - they have rented instead.  For example,  it pays £1.4 a year in rent for consular offices on a fixed term lease of around 15 years.  Do the math and tell me again which strategy makes more sense.

 

 

 

 

None of it makes sense it’s a ludicrous waste of money.

 

nothing you have said provides any justification for the cost does it.

[Robin-H 11]

1 minute ago, makapaka said:

None of it makes sense it’s a ludicrous waste of money.

 

nothing you have said provides any justification for the cost does it.

Buying something outright for £12m that you can sell in the future is a damn sight more sensible than spending £1.4m a year to rent somewhere on a fixed 15 year lease. 

[bendix 10]

6 minutes ago, makapaka said:

None of it makes sense it’s a ludicrous waste of money.

 

nothing you have said provides any justification for the cost does it.

Well, yeah, actually it does.

 

What doesn't make sense is you refusing to accept it makes sense when the figures clearly shows that it . . . ummm . . makes sense.

 

 

 

[Guest makapaka]

1 hour ago, Robin-H said:

Buying something outright for £12m that you can sell in the future is a damn sight more sensible than spending £1.4m a year to rent somewhere on a fixed 15 year lease. 

Why do you have to spend 1.4m a year to rent somewhere?

1 hour ago, bendix said:

Well, yeah, actually it does.

 

What doesn't make sense is you refusing to accept it makes sense when the figures clearly shows that it . . . ummm . . makes sense.

 

 

 

If you are happy to have your tax money spent on large value property purchases that’s fine - you’re prerogative.

[Bargepole23 337]

4 hours ago, makapaka said:

So does every travelling politician / dignitary have a house purchased for them on their travels?

 

keep justifying the purchase of a £12m house for an individual with taxpayers money if you like - it’s up to you. 

Where have I tried to justify the purchase, or made any comments about what happens to other travelling dignitaries?

 

I was merely refuting your point. Try reading a bit harder next time.

[iansheff 88]

Link below to other properties the Government owns, interesting that last year they decided to spend £55m on refurbishing  the Washington Embassy.  How come it costs £55m to refurbish a property and how can it cost them £16m a year to run? Apparently a Freedom of Information request for the years 2015-2016 for a property in Hong Kong came back with £9m a year running costs

 

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britains-billion-pound-property-empire-14197406

[Guest makapaka]

15 hours ago, Bargepole23 said:

Where have I tried to justify the purchase, or made any comments about what happens to other travelling dignitaries?

 

I was merely refuting your point. Try reading a bit harder next time.

What point - the point I was making is in regard to the justification for spending the money - that’s what the thread is about.

 

 

[the_bloke 17]

Does John Mothersole have a company car or does he get the bus?

 

If so, why?

 

Then apply your answer to the same situation.

[Bargepole23 337]

On 29/03/2019 at 10:00, makapaka said:

What point - the point I was making is in regard to the justification for spending the money - that’s what the thread is about.

 

 

The point that I highlighted in bold in my original reply, regardless of what the thread is about, although it is pertinent.

 

Your point was that providing security was just as easy in a hotel as in an apartment owned by the government.