to think these may be the biggest wastes of human time and money in our life times?

[futuristic1]

I've restricted my thoughts to wastes of British time and money, and these are just the first two I could think of...

£11billion - Smart Meters - on R4 earlier - will take at least 5 years longer than predicted to fit. Will only save, at most, (if anything), half of what they cost consumers to install and don't work now and may never work when people change suppliers.
£11 billion pound waste of human time and money that could be better invested elsewhere.

£50billion ++ Brexit

The way things are neither leavers or remainers will end up happy with the 'deal' so instead of at least 52% population being happy, the outcome will be that the winning 52% will be unhappy as will the losing 48%.
So Brexit as it stands, makes everybody unhappy.
Fair enough, you can't make all of the people happy all of the time, but is making all of the people unhappy all of the time the best alternative?
Surely not?

Why not stay in, save £50bn ++ and settle for 48% of the people being happy?

What other 'grand projects' is the British population currently engaged in that you feel history will judge to have been a waste of time and money?

I want to leave the EU passionately, but I agree the whole thing has been a MASSIVE waste of money, resources, and time. (Not helped by remainers trying to throw a spanner in the works to stop it though.) And also yeah, smart meters are a huge waste of money and are useless and pathetic. And finally, also HS2; unnecessary, expensive and a threat to nature.

I reckon 10 years from now, every last smart meter will have been recalled, and everyone will have a regular credit meter (or prepay!) They are this generation's endowment mortgages! Peddled as amazing, and a great idea (for a few years,) and then the mask slipped and everyone realised they were utterly shit, there was no benefit to any ordinary citizen, and they were a total waste of time!

'Nice, expat. People like you are the reason I hate my job. I get that people don’t want smart meters but is there really any need to behave like such a twat to the poor fucker just doing their job?'

Yes, Not, there is, because you know, when you cold call someone and they tell you, several times, that they don't want what you're trying to sell them, and keep questioning you, you sort of have that coming. I told him three* times I didn't want one. He kept getting more and more smart arse. Fuck that. But next time I'll just hang up.

I get the same from car dealerships. Go in and when asked tell them I want to buy a car, then they immediately try to hard sell me a lease. If I wanted to lease a car I'd tell them I was there to lease a car when asked.

^this post 😂😂😂 is superb. thank you.

When you are pestered repeatedly, it is absolutely ok to be forthright in your language

That's the new Brexit thing - leavers blaming remainers because brexit doesn't work.

Whaddya want? You want us to organise that for ya too?

Bunch a wise-guys!

All of these things, these grand designs... I have the answer...

Pascal — 'All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.'

Free schools and academies. Having worked in an academy chain where the school couldn't afford to get the gas serviced so we couldn't have Bunsen for practicals but the ceos were having all expenses paid trips to New York and wine tasting sessions

Trident
The AV referendum (remember that?)
Most public enquiries
Westminster re fit
The royal family
Hs2
Crossrail
Heathrow runway 3
ID cards
Austerity (it has got us more into debt)
The bank bail out (should have let them fail)

A smaller niggle but whenever a road ior pavement is resurfaced within weeks utilities will come and dig some of it up an register badly with non matchnig tarmac which crumbles during the first winter.

My gas meter has 15 years of life left in it. Why would I get a smart meter that would "save the environment" to replace something that has 15 years of life left in it - will it save the environment more than scrapping something that doesn't need replacing.

Nope - because I know how to switch stuff off that isn't needed, and my house isn't so big that I can't see when something has been left on. And there is only the boiler on the gas meter - I am of the "put a cardi on" generation anyhow.

HS2 - nobody seems to want! proves what a weird democracy we will in, because the consensus seems to be to scrap it, yet the overlords wont.

NHS IT project - was kinda funny, spent loads trying to unify the patchwork of IT systems, that exist across NHS England, only to find the different systems dont talk to each other!

Metro bus in Bristol - ignoring that no bus companies want to run the service 🤦‍♀️...why is the bus on hartcliffe way, headed towards Hengrove depot?? surely if it ran towards the city centre commuters would get to work on time and uptake of public transport would increase. i honestly dont get why they didnt reduce the lanes widths which are massive, and add a forth lane, so there's bus lanes in both directions. So....closed hartcliffe way for a year, only to instal a bus lane in the wrong direction??? im not a road planner, but im convinced its wrong.

2 year old nursery funding - not a waste of money. but did you know?....the reason it runs continuously is it's cheaper to fund the places than reassess peoples eligibility. ie. i returned to work, (£42k job), called to inform them of change in circumstances, just like you'd tell tax credits. they told me the reason it continues (so massive jump back up income, whilst incurring no additional childcare costs! thats a head scratcher). but fits your Q on waste of time/money. however, i reckon its one sensible move. why take the costly option to reassess people, just to cut funding. also, most importantly studies show underprivileged/low income 2 year olds bemefit from the continuous funding. as those factors that led to be eligible have long term effects. (prob not applicable for us tho in theory)

changes in school curriculum - ask any teacher, theyre a waste of time and come at a cost. where as the fundmentals never change. kids need to leave school literate, those at kids of leaving without these skills dont actually benefit from what feels like an ever changing curriculum. ie. 8 years old learning 14 times table, which i never learnt. doesnt narrow the number of kids leaving primary meeting the minimum required basics. just pushes the goal posts. im degree educated in sciences and the way they teach english/maths is mind boggling because i dont know these new methods so even tho im fairly book smart, struggle massively with 8 year olds homework!!

Universal credit. Projected to cost 2 billion, now raised to 12 billion, and screwing people over every day!

HS2. The biggest waste of public money there has ever been.

Health visitors - i reckon i was unfortunate in curtain twitching ones. but i think they should be opt in appointments, like GP. or by referal.
i actually formally opted out. anything i needed was told had to make a GP appointment anyways 🤦‍♀️

Yes pp^ - buying failing bank, then selling it just as they were becoming profitable. without tax payers regaining the bail out costs.

selling the royal mail - so someone else gets to reap the profits. why cant national institutions be run profitably? clearly its possible, as its now profit generating.

academies schools - !

sevendown - YY to austerity. Totally counterproductive and a threadbare excuse for the government to dismantle/privatise as much as possible of any public services and welfare. Which in turn will impoverish our country even more in countless ways in the long term.

expatinscotland - yes, I hate this "just doing my job" excuse for behaving like an arse. When you take a job which entails not taking no for an answer - i.e. being extremely rude - then you can hardly be surprised when people start being rude back.

Edinburgh trams £2bn for nothing

The Scottish Parliament building

I’m always shocked at how much the government spends on new buildings.

HS2

NHS It project.

Some previous posters have mentioned the garden bridge in London. This has now been cancelled - but only after £37m was spent.

HS2. No one wants it apart from 630 people in Westminster.

100k was spent on a sign on my town a bloody sign to say where you are

thanks

The twats that spent 151million on 'reforming' disability payments that has cost way more than it saved and left people dead.

I love the Scottish Parliament building.

No way on earth will I have a smart meter, since no-one can explain to me why I need one. If I want my bills to be smaller I will use less power.

HS2. No one wants it apart from 630 people in Westminster.

Well a few people who want a bigger nicer house than they can currently afford in London and think if they move the London commuter belt to like Sheffield it'll be amazing. Yeah those like 10 minutes or whatever it is off your journey once you've got to the ridiculously sited most local station to us which is craply located for any transport links will make all the difference.

And yes academies and unscrupulous MATs.

And the poor fuckers who get sent around here with a bucket of tarmac to just sling some in the potholes - which promptly breaks down and is fucked within a week cos it's a total bodge that doesn't work. That one's a waste of time and money.

Agreed. HS2 isn't for the northern cities benefit. It's so London can benefit.
Northern powerhouse want better rail links between northern cities not London.