I do like Eric http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10887447 He is going through quango and local authority budgets with a microscope. A bit of a no nonsense man –Wilt’s kind of man.
Yes and so it seems is George Osborne, except that he appears a distinctly repellent creature. With all of the privileged background that he brings to the table, he appears to relish greatly the damage that he is about to inflict on the public and in particular the public sector. He really embodies in his image everything that appalled me about the conservatives of old. In his speeches he seems to almost salivate at the prospect of wielding his axe in the most bloodthirsty way. I really cannot stand this odious little pasty faced public school rich boy pipsqueak. He may be a nice guy in real life but he just comes across as such a sanctimonious little shit, just the sort of little prick that would have been the most hated prefect in school.
And this is of course why Wilt is so fond of Mr Eric Pickles - perhaps he should consider including this interesting blog for the benefit of the readers of regulatorwatch - http://www.counterbalance.org.uk/latest/ericpick.htm
According to the current reports about the prospects for the economy it appears that the relentlessly pasty George Osborne's pallor may have something to do with the fact that he has totally oversharpened his axe in full public view. Joe public has been filled with dread about spending, young people can't get a house without a fortune they don't have, house prices are about to dive again and to top off the misery the double dip is looming large, not least because of the blatantly excessive doom mongering by one of our least experienced politicians. Why he was entrusted with a really important job that he has never appeared qualifed for is beyond me.
Poor old (young) George – we think he is misunderstood. I take a different attitude to the so called “Boy George” as do the markets and on the whole, I think, Joe Public.
The thing is, who is Joe Public after Gordon Brown created so many new public servants – are they Joe Public? I tend to see Joe Public as those who make a contribution to the economy or provide essential ‘frontline’ services – like social workers, although I think that should be privatised too and not those who distort the economy.
Although Wilt might change his view on George, for sure he will not be ever saying to himself that Gordon was a good Chancellor and certainly not a good Prime Minister, the dithering dork of a bully. Indeed it is questionable if he is even a good MP anymore as he attended Parliament twice since the election. It’s a bit like the GSCC – who will miss them? Not Wilt.
My problem with George is not bias against his background but with how he has handled the public presentation of his job and the need for cuts. He and David Cameron have continued to stick with their cuts rhetoric from the pre election period but it has belatedly begun to dawn that this is going to rebound on them because the public is very fearful of the future. Their "we're all in this together" line fails to cut it because we know that these two really won't be in it with us, rather their personal wealth will insulate then from the effects. My instincts have always favoured labour policies more than those of the Tories but right now I would prefer something in between. I hated labour social engineering policies and their tendency to legislate on almost every aspect of our lives. Yet I somehow cannot trust the Tories not to always neglect the most vulnerable while lining the pockets of business.
I see Eric is continuing his swift work and has decided to scrap the Audit Commission saving 50 million a year. All we need now is Phillip Green to get his teeth into how the public sector spends its money to work out how to save even more. I don't supposer that Phillip is going to feel the effects of the cuts too much given his personal fortune. More impecunious people may even be driven from their normal clothes shops into the arms of his BHS stores. I already go there for some of my workaday basics but not much else. I am not quite sure how putting a billionaire in charge of preparation for the public spending review is going to go down with the public. That makes three people in charge who will not be personally affected. Far from ideal.
I think the message is ‘Don’t mess with Eric.’ I heard on the news that Eric and the Audit Commission had a bit of a falling out and so he just abolished them! I must say Wilt did not see that one coming.
Now as for local government – there is plenty of savings to be found there. For example Chief Executives and their massive departments - would anyone miss them or their inflated salaries? There is no legal requirement to have a CEO whereas it is necessary to have a Treasurer, Law Officer and a Children’s Services Director.
My mate who is a senior Tory councillor along with his political group has already slashed middle and senior management. Some services are being outsourced and will be selling off the town hall – they will hire the local theatre for full Council meetings (they own it anyway) and cutting expenses both for officers and elected members. The consequence is a nil rise in Council Tax and a planned decrease in Council Tax next year.
Next – service conditions such as 6 months sick leave on full pay and 6 months on half-pay. That will be modified to more reasonable proportions because a significant minority of staff are taking the piss. Gold plated final salary pensions – I think not for new staff.
Take the MoD for example – what could possibly justify a staff compliment of 88,000? There are only 100,000 frontline troops for Gawd sake. What was Gordon Brown doing?
There is going to be a very different landscape in the public sector and it is going to hurt a lot, and it will hurt Wilt too as there will be less contract work. Things have got to change and whether local government is modelled on the BHS or not, it has got to get smaller and more efficient. Even Digby Jones agrees – he seems to have got the measure of the situation, a bit like Eric.
Sammy Wilson, the ever jovial DUP MP here in NI, appears to be following in Eric's quango bashing footsteps. He has declared that there has to be a reduction in NI quangos to save money and has turned his fire on the Human Rights Commission. He seems ready to arrange for a large quango bonfire. He should have thought of this before the protestant July 12 celebrations, traditionally held with huge bonfires to welcome it in the night before. The bonfires would have shone even more brightly had Sammy got off the blocks with his quango chopping a bit sooner - still better late than never. I have emailed him to suggest that he starts with the NISCC where he can save a cool 500k a year on property rental right away. Go Sammy! You are the man for the job.
Sammy has a track record of telling it like it is. He is an arch sceptic on global warming. Here he recently went off on one about the Northern Health and Social Care Trust's plan to have a buddhist monk provide stress busting happiness classes for staff using techniques such as mindfulness. Sammy thinks that it is all wrong for public bodies to use such people and waste the use of staff time and property to host the sessions. The other side of the coin is that his DUP colleague Nelson McCausland has advised the Board of the Ulster Museum that it should devote more space to creationist views of life and the planet. Now if we are talking about wasting staff time and public resources surely this is a classic example? The largest NI newspaper has covered Sammy's spat with the Trust below and the Trust has stood its ground.
Yes and so it seems is George Osborne, except that he appears a distinctly repellent creature. With all of the privileged background that he brings to the table, he appears to relish greatly the damage that he is about to inflict on the public and in particular the public sector. He really embodies in his image everything that appalled me about the conservatives of old. In his speeches he seems to almost salivate at the prospect of wielding his axe in the most bloodthirsty way. I really cannot stand this odious little pasty faced public school rich boy pipsqueak. He may be a nice guy in real life but he just comes across as such a sanctimonious little shit, just the sort of little prick that would have been the most hated prefect in school.
ReplyDeleteAnd this is of course why Wilt is so fond of Mr Eric Pickles - perhaps he should consider including this interesting blog for the benefit of the readers of regulatorwatch -
ReplyDeletehttp://www.counterbalance.org.uk/latest/ericpick.htm
According to the current reports about the prospects for the economy it appears that the relentlessly pasty George Osborne's pallor may have something to do with the fact that he has totally oversharpened his axe in full public view. Joe public has been filled with dread about spending, young people can't get a house without a fortune they don't have, house prices are about to dive again and to top off the misery the double dip is looming large, not least because of the blatantly excessive doom mongering by one of our least experienced politicians. Why he was entrusted with a really important job that he has never appeared qualifed for is beyond me.
ReplyDeletePoor old (young) George – we think he is misunderstood. I take a different attitude to the so called “Boy George” as do the markets and on the whole, I think, Joe Public.
ReplyDeleteThe thing is, who is Joe Public after Gordon Brown created so many new public servants – are they Joe Public? I tend to see Joe Public as those who make a contribution to the economy or provide essential ‘frontline’ services – like social workers, although I think that should be privatised too and not those who distort the economy.
Although Wilt might change his view on George, for sure he will not be ever saying to himself that Gordon was a good Chancellor and certainly not a good Prime Minister, the dithering dork of a bully. Indeed it is questionable if he is even a good MP anymore as he attended Parliament twice since the election.
It’s a bit like the GSCC – who will miss them? Not Wilt.
Wilt
My problem with George is not bias against his background but with how he has handled the public presentation of his job and the need for cuts. He and David Cameron have continued to stick with their cuts rhetoric from the pre election period but it has belatedly begun to dawn that this is going to rebound on them because the public is very fearful of the future. Their "we're all in this together" line fails to cut it because we know that these two really won't be in it with us, rather their personal wealth will insulate then from the effects. My instincts have always favoured labour policies more than those of the Tories but right now I would prefer something in between. I hated labour social engineering policies and their tendency to legislate on almost every aspect of our lives. Yet I somehow cannot trust the Tories not to always neglect the most vulnerable while lining the pockets of business.
ReplyDeleteI see Eric is continuing his swift work and has decided to scrap the Audit Commission saving 50 million a year. All we need now is Phillip Green to get his teeth into how the public sector spends its money to work out how to save even more. I don't supposer that Phillip is going to feel the effects of the cuts too much given his personal fortune. More impecunious people may even be driven from their normal clothes shops into the arms of his BHS stores. I already go there for some of my workaday basics but not much else. I am not quite sure how putting a billionaire in charge of preparation for the public spending review is going to go down with the public. That makes three people in charge who will not be personally affected. Far from ideal.
ReplyDeleteI think the message is ‘Don’t mess with Eric.’ I heard on the news that Eric and the Audit Commission had a bit of a falling out and so he just abolished them! I must say Wilt did not see that one coming.
ReplyDeleteNow as for local government – there is plenty of savings to be found there. For example Chief Executives and their massive departments - would anyone miss them or their inflated salaries? There is no legal requirement to have a CEO whereas it is necessary to have a Treasurer, Law Officer and a Children’s Services Director.
My mate who is a senior Tory councillor along with his political group has already slashed middle and senior management. Some services are being outsourced and will be selling off the town hall – they will hire the local theatre for full Council meetings (they own it anyway) and cutting expenses both for officers and elected members. The consequence is a nil rise in Council Tax and a planned decrease in Council Tax next year.
Next – service conditions such as 6 months sick leave on full pay and 6 months on half-pay. That will be modified to more reasonable proportions because a significant minority of staff are taking the piss. Gold plated final salary pensions – I think not for new staff.
Take the MoD for example – what could possibly justify a staff compliment of 88,000? There are only 100,000 frontline troops for Gawd sake. What was Gordon Brown doing?
There is going to be a very different landscape in the public sector and it is going to hurt a lot, and it will hurt Wilt too as there will be less contract work. Things have got to change and whether local government is modelled on the BHS or not, it has got to get smaller and more efficient. Even Digby Jones agrees – he seems to have got the measure of the situation, a bit like Eric.
Wilt
Sammy Wilson, the ever jovial DUP MP here in NI, appears to be following in Eric's quango bashing footsteps. He has declared that there has to be a reduction in NI quangos to save money and has turned his fire on the Human Rights Commission. He seems ready to arrange for a large quango bonfire. He should have thought of this before the protestant July 12 celebrations, traditionally held with huge bonfires to welcome it in the night before. The bonfires would have shone even more brightly had Sammy got off the blocks with his quango chopping a bit sooner - still better late than never. I have emailed him to suggest that he starts with the NISCC where he can save a cool 500k a year on property rental right away. Go Sammy! You are the man for the job.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.sammywilson.org/2010/08/27/time-to-cut-down-on-quangos-says-wilson/
Sammy has a track record of telling it like it is. He is an arch sceptic on global warming. Here he recently went off on one about the Northern Health and Social Care Trust's plan to have a buddhist monk provide stress busting happiness classes for staff using techniques such as mindfulness. Sammy thinks that it is all wrong for public bodies to use such people and waste the use of staff time and property to host the sessions. The other side of the coin is that his DUP colleague Nelson McCausland has advised the Board of the Ulster Museum that it should devote more space to creationist views of life and the planet. Now if we are talking about wasting staff time and public resources surely this is a classic example? The largest NI newspaper has covered Sammy's spat with the Trust below and the Trust has stood its ground.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/northern-ireland/nhs-trust-takes-on-buddhist-monk-14899067.html