"Conservative" silence on the British Council may undermine their value-promoting credentials

canonalberic

Give it a rest. The British Council is an absurd waste of money; a strange survival of the cold war stuffed to the taxpayers gunnels with pointless political timeservers and bureaucrats.

Nash

The presence of Neil Kinnock and his son has damaged the impartiality of the British Council. Of course, it should promote the UK's interests - isn't that obvious!

Prodicus

Sigh.

'Dame Pauline', not 'Dame Neville-Jones'. As in 'Sir George' as opposed to 'Sir Young', na-meen? Tsk. Sloppy.

One of you chaps actually wrote 'should of' the other day. Can't find it at the mo but I reckon I was lucky to survive that seizure.

Who's to blame for the increasing level of culpable error in Speccie writing, Ed? Yourself? The skools?

KT everytime

Agree. And one of many ripe for culling and heavily pruning

YA

To get more Middle Eastern oil money, to buy more Chinese-made goods.

Nice economic model.
There is no necessity to think or to work.

So that's not surprising that British Council moves closer to the client base.

Although, Britain becomes a subservant, a housemaid in the Islam-dominated global new order. But that's not big price for our economic prosperity, isn't it?

strapworld

Mr Korski, I have mentioned before my concern that you should be writing for another organisation. One that best suits your left, wishy washee thinking.

Let me say I will be far far happier having Pauline Neville-Jones at the heart of Government. I want 'Old School, realist instincts to influence Tory policy.

I have no confidence in the left wing dominated British Council. I have no doubt that this organisation will be re-fashioned to become a far greater ambassador of British values.

I want a total review of the Foreign Office. I want patriots in that place. For far too long it has been allowed to walk along a self determined path, much of the time against the best long term interests of this Country.

I want the British Government to stand up for Britain and not to be ashamed of our history and our flag. I want patriots to have more opf a say in the running of our country not former communists with no love for our traditions, history, Queen or country.

canonalberic is absolutely spot on!

Rhoda Klapp

Does anyone find it ironic that the promotion of democracy is entrusted to a non-elected official heading a largely unaccountable operation? Ditch it. Scrap the lot.

Frank P

" many fear Dame Neville-Jones’ old-school, realist instincts will unduly influence Tory policy."

Unfortunately what most of us fear is that the policies of the Cameroons will result in exactly the opposite. So the question remains: where do those of a moderate conservative persuasion turn to in the forthcoming general election. Seems to me they are between the devil and a shallow purple-tinted sea.

emil

sigh - another day another nit picking attack on the Conservatives. don't know why I don't just start reading labour list for this sort of rubbish.

DavidDP

Yes. The issue of the British Council is on everybody's lips.

MaxSceptic

Time to close down the British Council.

And then the Arts Council.

The Moral Coward of Kirkcaldy....

"But questions still remain about the council’s remit and organisation. Since in 1997, the quasi-governmental organisation seems to have internalised two Labour propositions: that the age of the nation state is over; and that national interests have been replaced by “global values”."

That's funny, I don't recall any party putting in its manifesto or discussing the policy of the end of the nation state of Britain?. When were the people of Britain consulted on the dissolution of THEIR nation ? How would democracy work in a system of "global values" ?

How dare a Quango work on this basis whilst accepting funding from the same British people it wishes to ignore. Wretched.

Its high time that this type of Quango style of management ended. Its the problem not the solution and the problem needs eliminating.

Finally, the logo of the British Council is a joke. Like its management, you wouldn't know via the logo that the organisation had anything to do with Britain.

denis cooper

From its website:

"Cultural relations can help us find ways of living together, as global citizens, for a better future for all."

Any publicly funded organisation which refers to "global citizens" needs to be either radically reformed, or shut down.

Dave B

The Conservatives should be asking themselves which taxpayer funded organisations are absolutely necessary. In the case of the British Council, I'd say not this one. Close it down.

RMH

As an ex Council employee the place is stuffed full of Oxbridge types with proper old school connections, living it up like proper charlies.

The Council staff are so detahced form the bosses it is untrue.

They are running VR programme after VR programme and has many pillars of work it is daft.

It is like a cultural BBC in terms of its thinking.

Frank S

The British Council promotes CO2 alarmism. They have dedicated staff for that purpose. That alone is enough to condemn the entire organisation as an unprincipled leftie-bandwaggon jumping exploiter of the public purse for malevolent ends.

strapworld

May I ask you a question Mr Korski?

Have you ever attended a Common Purpose training session? Indeed, are you a member of Common Purpose?

Pricky Gayes

At Hansard we refer to her as "the noble Baroness, Lady Neville-Jones".

TimC

I worked for this ludicrous crew as well, though as a contractor not one of the over comfortable employees with their Foreign Office feather bedding. Time for a serious axe to be taken to it.

David Blackie

In order to be credible the British Council must do two things: 1) They must have a respectable, democratic status. Being simultaneously an arm of government, a registered charity and a business is not acceptable, as all three constructs are thereby compromised. 2) It needs to regroup and establish what its mission is or might be. It is really no good taking taxpayers' money in order to do whatever comes into their heads. If it has a mission it should be articulated so that we can all understand it.
At present the organisation is established in countries all over world under diplomatic cover, while also under diplomatic cover it uses its massive subvention and diplomatic privilege to put legitimate enterprise out of business. Its heavily subsidized competition, at home and abroad, is unfair and has no place in a democracy.

RMH

The British Council was the first "in" at Libya.............. and that way tres profitable.....

Neil Robertson

British Council should indeed be axed but also called to account for 'non-existent'
projects in Palestine for which they bill
the taxpayer (in one instance) for £195K?
As a whistleblower I demand some answers!

Perhaps Mr Korski could ask the former British Council operative Ms Emma Sky
to take time out from her role in the
US army 'advising' General Odierno to
account for her 'sky-jacking' of that
£1.9 million UK DfID 'PAID' project in
2000 managed by British Council DATS?

http://www.globaldashboard.org/2009/02/21/reach-for-the-sky/

patrick watson

At the core of the BCs operations lies a corrosive conflict of interests in that it competes against other UK education suppliers while purporting to represent them. It of course is subsidised, they are not. This is damaging for UK commercial interests, it stifles the development of an education market abroad and tarnishes the reputation of the BC to such a degree that it raises serious questions over its very purpose and whether it actually works against rather than for the UKs commercial interests.