Hopefully, as this is public money, there will be full transparency about the investment decisions

Blooming comedian ain't you. :D ;)

hopefully this isn't another way for them to funnel money to their mates for the eventual company directorships/consultancy payments. I mean they would never do that…

And then when the companies are more mature we'll then flog them off right? Its not like this country has ever grasped the idea of ‘long term’ism is it.

I'm applying straight away. Got an idea for embedding RGB leds in white sticks for the blind , got to be worth a shot.

cheesemp
And then when the companies are more mature we'll then flog them off right?

Kind of how venture capitalism works, mate.

Put into perspective…£22bn was lavished on the failed test and trace, run by Typhoid Dido, outsourced to private companies including US credit scoring companies.
I'll say that again. £22 billion. In ONE year.

selfishtoaster
Kind of how venture capitalism works, mate.

Doesn't mean it makes sense or is the right thing. Warren Buffett invests for the longer term famously and has made a lot of money (He buys a company and then lets them invest for growth rather than returns). When your thinking is always on the returns this year you'll never make good decisions but this is how modern capitalism works and I think its broken. Note this is a complaint about modern capitalism not capitalism in general.

With everything that has gone on, over the past 12 months, it has been extremely easy for nations to borrow obscene amounts of money from central banks. The current forecast for the UK's total borrowing in the 2020/21 fiscal year is estimated to top £400 billion. To put that into context the country borrowed £44 billion in the 2019/20 year.

The impression that I personally get is that the government is taking as much as it can get away with, which I'm assuming is currently at a favourable interest rate, whilst the general consensus in the public and the media are in the mindset of “do whatever it takes” as apposed to “how is all of this going to be paid back?”. Once the harsh reality of the long term negative repercussions of this pandemic set in, with continual budget deficits, reduced annual growth and currency inflation; central banks will tighten their lending and raise their rates.

For example, they've just announced extended furlough, VAT cuts in hospitality, £408m for the arts, £150m for pubs, etc.

cheesemp
Warren Buffett invests for the longer term famously and has made a lot of money (He buys a company and then lets them invest for growth rather than returns). When your thinking is always on the returns this year you'll never make good decisions but this is how modern capitalism works and I think its broken. Note this is a complaint about modern capitalism not capitalism in general.

Warren Buffet also employs acts of modern capitalism.
It's true that he's a die-hard value investor with a mindset of continual, long term growth; however, he is notorious for share buy-backs. Berkshire Hathaway doesn't offer any dividends as they are used for share buy-backs instead.

Warren also has a HUGE herd instinct that follows his investments, which will always help the performance and return of his choices.