to think if the govt have £1million to spend on fireworks

[ToxicKitten]

it's a wee bit hypocritical to cut spending on public services and disabled support?

Or am I just getting way too old and cynical after a particularly tough 2010?

Happy New Year fellow home celebrators :)

My dp just said pretty much the same thing so I don't think he would think YABU.

Total waste of money IMHO!
But then govt aren't best known for their common sense decisions are they?

Oh and Happy New Year!

Not the Govt. It's Boris who pays for them, courtesy of the London Council tax payer.

Surely the banks could have sponsored the fireworks this year?....

I dont think it's a waste of money. It's too small an amount. And worth it to promote tourism to London.

They never used to do it and now it's a much Loved and travelled to, event.

Oops, sorries to David and Nick then.

Puts Boris on the norty step instead.

I wondered that (wonder it every year) and also about the added pollution contributing to the whatsit hole in the sky too...

Hmm, I'd be interested in what the return is from tourism etc.

Like the bank sponsoring idea :)

at £1 million being a small amount, but I suppose you're right in business terms etc. I just can't get my head round all these huge amounts of "virtual" money kicking around in the "economy". I like things literal and tangible me, especially my coinage. LOL.

This year I am mostly going to be a grumpy old woman and Luddite. I may also wear purple.

And keep taking the tablets.

We're all in it together

still - apparently for the "first time" - a British Pyrotechnics firm was used.

we said the same thing - but we were trying to estimate how much they spent and hugely underestimated at £100k
At least it was a British firm - can't believe it hasn't been in the past
Happy New Year
Bah :o

Great minds think alike.

APparently the fireworks viewing areas have a capacity for 250,000 people. (that's the official viewing areaa - then there'll be people viewing elsewhere I guess as well).

I suppose each person doesn't have to spend much at all to "put back" into the tourism economy more than £1m??

Have to say I was shocked that it's never been a British firm before!!

Double oops here - knee jerk curmudgeon response to the display meant the googled figures I found were for 2006.... here is a link to an article on the actual costs.

www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/4957

But there is still a principal at stake. Somewhere. I think.

(Scrabbles desperately for vestige of credibility before slinking back into Scrooge corner with my cup of tea)

speculate to accumulate

YANBU. What a sorry bunch of cunts they are.

I'd say it will have promoted London pretty effectively to the world - all the shots of the Eye, Big Ben, etc. Think it's part of the Olympic run-up.

All those people will have spent money in London, some in hotels, many in restos and bars.

YABU.... Just because times are tough, doesn't mean we have to go into metaphorical hair shirts and eat gruel.

£1.8m is peanuts in the scale of the UK's debt, which is in the billions.

Also? What Chil said.

Yabu, but only because 1 million pounds seems a good investment, considering London is always at max capacity over New Year. They must make the money back several times over.

If we didn't have the fireworks - which I have just watched on BBC website - very good , set to music etc - then we would still have the policing bill for the night - why don't we just stop people going out and enjoying themselves , ban people rom Trafalgar Square etc - all an unnessecary cost IMO ,