Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 24, 2025

Former home secretary Clarke dismisses BoJo’s £200mn royal yacht plan as ‘silly populist nonsense’

Former home secretary Clarke dismisses BoJo’s £200mn royal yacht plan as ‘silly populist nonsense’

Kenneth Clarke, a Conservative former Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary, called Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan for a new £200-million royal yacht “silly populist nonsense,” in an interview with the BBC.
Clarke – who served in a variety of ministerial positions under Conservative prime ministers Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Edward Heath, and David Cameron, told Radio 4’s Today show on Tuesday that the plan was a “complete waste of time” and “silly populist nonsense,” and claimed the government has “no money for that kind of thing.”

The former home secretary argued that the £200-million price tag would not “cause problems” for the country, but “shows there are people in No 10 who just think there’s free money and who think that waving a union jack and sending yachts and aircraft carriers around the world shows what a great power we are.”

The planned yacht would serve as a new symbol of a post-Brexit UK and would replace HM Yacht Britannia, which was launched in 1953. Since Britannia was decommissioned in 1997, there has not been a permanent royal yacht.

A spokesman for the prime minister revealed this week that, though the Ministry of Defence would pay for the “initial cost of taking the flagship through the procurement process,” it is currently not clear who would pay for the rest of the yacht’s development.

“We haven’t set out the source of full funding for the rest of the project, and we will do so at a later stage,” the spokesman declared.

Clarke is not the only former Conservative Party minister to have criticized the government’s expensive yacht plan.

Johnny Mercer, the former Minister for Defence People and Veterans, called the news that the Ministry of Defence would help pay for the yacht “slightly irritating, given they asked me to reduce the budget of the new Office for Veteran’s Affairs from a £5 million to £3 million, just 12 months after it was formed.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
“You Have 12 Hours to Flee”: Israeli Threat Campaign Targets Surviving Iranian Officials
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Airlines Evaluate Flight Cancellations Amid Escalating US-Iran Tensions
Starmer Invites Innovators to Join Government Talent Scheme
UK Economy’s Strong Opening Quarter Shows Signs of Cooling
Harrods Seeks Court Order to Secure Al Fayed Estate for Victims
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
WATCH: Israeli forces show the aftermath of a massive airstrike at Iran's Isfahan nuclear site
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
We have new information and breaking details to share about what is shaping up to be a historic air campaign tonight
Six Massive Bombs Dropped on Fordow; Trump: 'A Historic Moment for the U.S., Israel, and the World'
Fordow: Deeply Buried Iranian Enrichment Site in U.S.–Israel Crosshairs
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Pakistan to nominate Trump for Nobel Peace Prize.
BBC Demands Perplexity AI Immediately Stop Using Its Content
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
Political Turmoil Resurfaces in Belgium Amid Economic Concerns
Fed policymakers divided on timing of interest rate cuts
Trump signals imminent agreement with Harvard University
Inheritance tax referendum alarms Swiss billionaire community
Japan cancels bilateral security meeting amid US defence demands
AI skeptic Emily Bender warns that ‘the emperor has no clothes’
Israel Confirms Assassination of Quds Force Commander in Tehran
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Iranian Military Officers Reportedly Seek Contact with Reza Pahlavi, Signal Intent to Defect
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Vietnam Emerges as Luxury Yacht Destination for Ultra‑Rich
Plans to Sell Dutch Embassy in Bangkok Face Local Opposition
China's Iranian Oil Imports Face Disruption Amid Escalating Middle East Tensions
Trump's $5 Million 'Trump Card' Visa Program Draws Nearly 70,000 Applicants
DGCA Finds No Major Safety Concerns in Air India's Boeing 787 Fleet
Airlines Reroute Flights Amid Expanding Middle East Conflict Zones
Elon Musk's xAI Seeks $9.3 Billion in Funding Amid AI Expansion
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Israeli Airstrike Targets Iranian State TV in Central Tehran
President Trump is leaving the G7 summit early and has ordered the National Security Council to the Situation Room
Taiwan Imposes Export Ban on Chips to Huawei and SMIC
Israel has just announced plans to strike Tehran again, and in response, Trump has urged people to evacuate
Netanyahu Signals Potential Regime Change in Iran
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
EU Proposes Ban on New Russian Gas Contracts
×