Nick Clegg: Tories squander money on vanity projects - Telegraph
Government gives the green light to develop HS3, but campaigners label it an ‘expensive vanity project’ | Local Government Executive
Now is not the time for grand vanity projects like HS2 - Telegraph
Boris's vanity projects
Interview: Daniel Moylan – “Boris will never surrender his vision of building a great new airport east of London” | Conservative Home
Certainly this is an issue in areas of the world we like to think of as less benign and less transparent:
Too many regional airports turn to be vanity projects - Opinion - Chinadaily.com.cn
BBC News - The white elephants that dragged Spain into the red
Much of this is about 'infrastructure' - and the kudos it brings politicians:
VANITY FAYRE OR BONFIRE OF VANITIES? THE TALES OF INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS | The Sceptical Economist
... as referred to before:
Futures Forum: The Infrastructure Bill: "Infrastructure isn’t just about pouring concrete... It’s essential that we see infrastructure as a means to an end, not as an end in itself."
And much of it is about 'local government' - and the benefits it brings politicians:
| Jungle beat |  |  |  |
| Wednesday, 31 October 2012 09:03 |
 The cover of the report from the Heseltine Review helpfully has a cartoon of the man himself, with trademark flowing locks, lifting up a stone and shining a torch below. Entitled No stone unturned in pursuit of growth, the report from Tory peer Lord Heseltine contains a number of eye-catching recommendations from a local government perspective.
One of the most radical is that all two-tier English local authorities outside London should pursue a path towards unitary status.
As many readers will know, not long after the coalition government came into power the Communities Secretary put the kibosh on bids by Norwich and Exeter city councils to achieve unitary status.
At the time Eric Pickles said it was “ludicrous that taxpayers’ money [was] being wasted imposing a council reorganisation”.
Back in 2008, the Communities Secretary told the local government part of the Conservative Home website: “Local government reorganisation has been a vanity project by Ministers, more concerned about reducing the number of Conservative Councillors than delivering better quality services for taxpayers.
“If I am lucky enough to become Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government I intend to keep a loaded pearl-handled revolver in my drawer, and the first civil servant who suggests local government reorganisation will be shot. I am not at all interested in the structure of local government."
In its response to the Heseltine Review, the chairman of the Local Government Association, Sir Merrick Cockell, said the coalition's stance meant the issue of structural reform of local government was a moot point. “The more urgent priority for councils is helping local businesses to drive growth and create jobs, and the report proposes a number of helpful measures,” he argued.
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Local Government Lawyer - Jungle beat
... a project which has come back to haunt both national and local politicians:
Futures Forum: Unitary Councils...... Urban District Councils...... and the East Devon District Council
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: and the longer-term demise of district councils... part five... East Devon District Council "will imminently have no alternative whatsoever than to integrate anyway."
The East Devon Watch blog comments on a piece in the latest Express and Echo:
DOES EXETER HAVE ITS OWN VANITY PROJECT?
19th February 2015
And interesting to see a prospective Conservative Candidate for Exeter City Council (and former Exeter City Centre Manager) lash the Labour majority with these words:
“As a direct result of investing those millions of pounds in the swimming pool we are going to have to make further cuts in other services.
“It’s completely wrong. It’s the wrong moment to do it and I think when people realise this is being funded from the public purse and we’re all going to have to pay more as a result and have less services available to us, it’s something they will be really angry about.”
So far only EDDC Conservative Peter Halse has had the courage to tell his colleagues what he thinks about THEIR vanity project:
... which brings us back to:
Futures Forum: Knowle relocation project: "Rather than expensive vanity projects, they should stay in their old home in Sidmouth (even expensive to heat) and concentrate on spending our money more wisely."
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