Isn't It Funny, in a Not Funny at All Way, How

politico's sometimes disparage suggestions that "Y" be done because "doing Y will only save £x millions" and is they are suggesting basically a complete waste of time; and yet at other times insist that "doing Z is vital and necessary" because it will save one tenth of the £x millions that it wasn't worth bothering with under proposal Y" but which saving is suddenly unarguable and incontrovertible evidence for going ahead with Z ...

Philip Hammond, the Defence Secretary, attacked the Lib Dem plan as "either naïve or reckless". He said "a 'two boats' policy would save only about £50m to £60m a year for the 30-year life of the new boats. In the context of the overall defence budget that's about 0.17 per cent, that's a tiny saving ...."