I have been receiving e-mails from mates in other countries, mocking the incompetence on show at T5. I imagine you have too. Peter Franklin's post and Conor Burns' post about the issue both prompted some interesting comments. In that vein, I thought I would kick off a centreright jamboree on British Grand Project Incompetence.
I ask you the following:
- What is it about our country that makes us so bad at running these things?
- Or do you think that I'm wrong, and that in fact we do Grand Projects well, by and large..?
- Why did Wembley cost so much more, and take so much longer, than any of the German stadiums (stadia?) built for the last Euros?
Besides Wembley and T5, I'd offer the British Library, the Scottish Parliament and the Dome in support of my case. Which I suppose means the following questions should also be asked:
- What other examples might you give?
- What counter-examples might you give of projects we've done well?
And that leads to another big question:
- Given all of the above, do you feel dread at the prospect of London 2012..?
I'm not being flippant or frivolous. It seems to me that the person who can answer the question of why so much went right for the Germans pre-Euros, but so wrong for us at Wembley, would really be in a position to crack something that plagues our public life.
