Sarcasm and cynicism
Hi Truckmaster. Merry Christmas!! It has been a good debate so far.
It will be a political decision of course, and despite your vehemence, location will have everything to do with it.
If you want to talk politics, let's just agree the whole IBFTS fiasco (in allowing East Sale into the picture) is about being seen to enable a competing bid against the incumbent, and very little to do with any other of the various well made discussion points put forward in this thread.
Of course everybody understands a move of basing and re-equipment at BFTS as a 6 year interim measure, with no guarantee of any post 5428 work, will never be cost effective against an established supplier in a location with the overheads already largely covered.