I’m going to be controversial and state that I am not one of those who supported London’s bid to host the junket that is the Olympic Games. Not just because I find the whole thing terminally tedious, but because of the utter arrogance it wallows in.
If people want to partake or even host this event, then that’s fine by me in principle. So long as it hurts no one. Ah, now there’s the rub… But it will hurt people in one way or another, won’t it? If you are a London council tax payer, the delightful Ken will be putting up taxes averaging £20 per annum starting in 2006/7. Were these good folk asked whether they wanted to contribute to this sporting event? And if they don’t, what then? This amounts to robbery. Oh, the excuse is that the area needed investment anyway. Fine, but an Olympic village and a bloody great stadium? I don’t think so.
Then there are the people who just happen to be in the way of the grand plan. Forman and Field, for example. Having just spent out on new premises, they now find that they are inconveniently located and must vacate. I have a bias here. I despise the principle of compulsory purchase – it is a deeply nasty process that allows the strong to bully the weak. The Americans have a term for it – eminent domain abuse. It is this that Forman and Field now find themselves facing.
So, when you watch the BBC News gloating over London’s victory to the point where they expended 15 minutes worth of somewhat putrid hot air, then you might spare a thought for the little people about to be trampled underfoot.
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