The state we're in
Peter Hoskin 10:12am
Just to recommend the FT's analysis of the size of the British state to CoffeeHousers. Click through their slides, and you'll get plenty of digestable facts and graphs about public spending, the size of the public sector and, ahem, the MoD's 21 concrete mixers. Who knew, for instance, that of the 30 children in an average primary school classroom "more than two" will have a parent who works in the NHS? In an ideal, transparent world, the Treasury would provide straightforward statistical resources like this.
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wrinkled weasel
June 23rd, 2009 11:38am Report this commentThe Demon. It's coming. It's in the trees! It's in the trees!
Sir Graphus
June 23rd, 2009 11:46am Report this commentI have a chum who's reasonably senior in a large ministry (well, they're all large, that's the trouble). He told what's going on, while watching our sons attempting to swat cricket balls on Saturday (his son was doing rather better than mine);
The Sec of State, he says, is openly making jokes about the certainty of Labour losing the next election. The civil servants are marking time until the next election. They know the change is coming, but can't really plan for it. The ministers aren't trying to achieve anything because they know they've only got a year. The civil servants aren't trying to do anything, because it'll all be changed in a year.
They know cuts are coming, but it'll take a new govt, in a year's time to direct where they should be made. So, in the meantime, they're carrying on spending the money.
Government has ground to a halt. All that's going to happen between now and a general election is that the Lisbon treaty will be irretrievable and we'll be another £200bn in debt.
Scotty
June 23rd, 2009 1:17pm Report this comment'ock eye Cap'tin, I canny get her to work
Peter Drummond
June 23rd, 2009 1:25pm Report this commentEveryone should go and read this little FT presentation, it is excellent and disturbing.
Alf Tupper C.R.O.F.
June 23rd, 2009 6:02pm Report this commentI'm afraid round where I live, "of the 30 children in an average primary school classroom, [NO] "more than two" will have a parent who works. Full stop.
Basically, they can't afford to take a job.
That's the state we're in.
Dave B
June 23rd, 2009 8:45pm Report this commentFile on 4 this evening looked at PFI financing for public sector contracts.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00l5gm4
Towards the end of the programme there was a suggestion that gov't spending will NOT decrease after the election, as set out in the published budget cuts (highlighted by Mr Nelson), but will simply move off the gov't books to PFI.
Labour are not planning post election cuts to balance the books. They are actively planning more, and more, and more red ink.
Christopher Chantrill
June 23rd, 2009 8:59pm Report this commentNice, but at ukpublicspending.co.uk you can make your own charts of public spending.
Graeme Stewart
June 23rd, 2009 9:48pm Report this commentThe FT slides make for harrowing reading. I work in the NHS, and even I think its an inefficient behemoth. It employs a huge wedge on non "front line" staff, who are responsible for the huge increase in spending without any increase in productivity. And ( sorry for starting a sentence with and, but I'm on a roll now) they all have the same protectionist public service mentality that turns on anyone that dares question their value. I'm now ashamed to tell acquaintances that I work in the NHS, I can sense them looking me up and down, analysing whether or not I'm worth their tax pounds. The public services will be the equivalent of the old trade unions in the political equations being worked out over the next few years -a block of votes based on self-interest that Government of any description will be afraid to upset.
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