Dave Force One: is PM's jet a wise move ahead of Spending Review?

(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

published 19 November 2015

David Cameron and senior ministers are to get their own dedicated official jet at a cost of nearly £10m, it has been announced. The news comes just days before a new round of public spending cuts is announced, and it's already attracting criticism.An RAF Voyager A330 air-to-air refuelling plane is to be refitted for official use, at a cost of around £10m. The plane will also be available to senior royals.The government says running the plane will cost around £775,000 a year less than repeatedly chartering jets, as it does currently – but Labour says it is too early to predict the size of any savings.The SNP's Stewart Hosie has insisted that there should be "absolute transparency" about the project to ensure that the "best deal is made on behalf of the taxpayer".The Guardian predicts there will be comparisons to Tony Blair's plan for a similar aircraft, dubbed Blair Force One by the press, which was vetoed by then-Chancellor Gordon Brown. Though it never got off the ground, Blair Force One was a much more expensive project that involved buying two private jets at a cost of £100m.Writing for Politics.co.uk, Adam Bienkov was quick to name the new plane Dave Force One. He says the plane idea is "another step towards a governing class cut off from the people" even if it "may well be true" that it will save money."Britain's democracy has always been based on the principle that our politicians should remain both politically and physically close to those they seek to represent," he says.Bienkov says the current febrile atmosphere after the Paris terror attacks will make it easier to justify the jet – but praises London mayor Boris Johnson for sticking to public transport and his bike, when he might easily hide in an executive car with bulletproof windows.Some like the plan. "Up, up and away!" exclaims The Times in a leader column. The jet is "sensible on grounds of cost, security and practicality" even though it "might, at first glance, seem questionable".Aeronautically, things are looking up for Cameron: he was spotted on an EasyJet flight in August this year, munching crisps on the way back from the Algarve. It is unlikely that the PM will seek to use Dave Force One for his family holidays, though, so he may not have seen the last of budget airlines.