Money down the drain
When the National Lottery was launched it was designed to fund those areas of our national life, like sport, which had been under-resourced. Yes, it did good things like help to pay for the beautiful tower at St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and bad things like the ridiculous Dome.
Today childhood obesity is a huge talking point. Over the years, we have seen less sport in schools, school swimming pools have been closed, as well as a shortage of PE teachers.
Whilst I am delighted that we got the Olympic bid for 2012, the spiralling costs threaten local sports projects. Ken Livingstone is having a blazing public row with the Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell. The Treasury failed to budget for the VAT bill accurately.
It is appalling incompetence, entirely typical and predictable. Regrettably as the Government scuttles around trying to find the money it failed to budget for, it will be those vital and valuable less grandiose sports projects that will suffer.