Darling talks sense on public sector pay

strapworld

Come on Fraser, I know you wish to be seen as an editor who enjoys living on the dge. But dont you think two anti tory posts, on a Sunday as well, rather unfair?

I like Mr Hoskin but feel that today his normal high standards have lost him. Why praise this nonsense from a man who should have shown much more steel long ago before he, effectively, bankrupted this country.

The man should have resigned and given Brown the kicking of his life in his Commons resignation speech. He didn't and proved to us all that he is a bloody coward.

Verityred

Tories well ahead of the game on this. Looks like Brown has lost quite a bit of his power since his sagging corpse was propped up, yet again.

Pete Hoskin

strapworld: first, Fraser doesn't edit Coffee House.

Second, this is hardly an anti-Tory post. In my third para I highlight, approvingly, that Osborne was talking along these lines some months ago.

But if Alistair Darling introduces some of the things he hints at in the article (e.g. linking public pay with private sector settlements), £billions more could be saved for the Exchequer.

With the state the public finances are in, I think it's sometimes worth giving credit where it's due - for good ideas that could help us get out of the fiscal mess - rather than just laying into them along tribal lines...

oldtimer

I shall believe this when it happens.

If true, it is indeed welcome to hear another politician acknowledging the need to cut the cost of the state bureaucracy. Many of us, here at CH, advocated public sector pay restraint and pay cuts months and months ago - in those not so far off days when Brown was still talking up "Labour investment vs Tory cuts". No doubt the imminent prospect of Brown trouser moments at No. 10 and the Treasury has concentrated minds as well as sphincters.

denis cooper

At this stage it would be better to focus on cutting pay rather than numbers. That would spread the pain more thinly, enabling public sector employees and their families to keep their homes, and keep together, by trimming other expenditure. Later, when there are more vacancies in the private sector to absorb those displaced from the public sector, gradually cut their numbers by about half.

Roger Daley

The Labour party has had plenty of mileage mouthing their mantras regarding "Tory Cuts" - To try and implement or even talk about cuts now after all the sabre rattling across the floor at PMQ's for the past year or so is back peddling and more than a tad hypocritical.

Short the UK

It was the patriots Hoon & Hewitt who enabled this to transpire.

It just shows what a traitor Mr Brown is.

RMH

I have long argued he has been a good person in the seat.

I think a set 3 year pay freeze would be sufficient, until such time as defecit is below X% and not before tax cuts.

Also need to put in max rises for promotions, and above £50k, that is lower too. Have set amount of regrades less than 1% of total civil service.

The alternative is to flip to average salary or last ten years for pensions.

TGF UKIP

As Pete points out, Boy George had indeed only been speaking of a one year pay freeze in 2011 and a very limited one at that, with well over a million sate employees excepted.

Now that Real Labour have outflanked him by speaking of actual pay cuts perhaps Blue Labour might be able to screw up the courage to follow. That's their usual role isn't it?

toco

Good to see Darling is following George Osborne's excellent lead.One priority which will not affect growth is to bring public sector pension schemes in line with those in the private sector.This will save in excess of £40 billion per annum and is transparently fair to those of us who fund the public sector.

Norman Dee

Saying "give credit where credit is due" to Alistair Darling is like saying Hitler built good roads, it's all totally discredited by his earlier behaviour.

BigAl

Today he talks sense but what about tomorrow when it becomes politically expedient to spin a different story, or when Macavity makes an announcement? The death throws are underway.

Athesius the Facilitator

For goodness sake MR Hoskin. Its not an idea. Its a tactic. You journo's are so gullable sometimes.

Fox in a box

Do the Brothers in the Boiler Makers Union, know about Comrade Darling's thoughts on this??

Snowman

Never voted Labour, and never will, but the last thing I desire is an environment where only one idea, ideology or party dominates. The Labour movement, by cutting itself off from its roots, have drifted into a foggy cul-de-sac, but kicking it there to death may not be the smartest thing to do in a democracy.

I don’t see Peter’s piece as anti-Tory, and it pleases me that one of the more than pink adherents of the leadership that stumbled has seen the writing on the wall.

To engineer a shift for the whole colossus of our society away from the dependency culture and stuff, we need those previously deluded by the pseudo-liberal pap to join us.

It’s not for the first time that Darling has shown courage and common sense, and it puzzles why nobody has ever mentioned the possibility of his taking over what will, hopefully, become a vestige of the Labour party after the election.

Gawain

Darling may talk sense now and again. The problem is that he comes across a bit like a rural vicar from the home counties going into a trendy bar in the centre of Newcastle at midnight, politely suggesting that people might want to moderate their drinking a teensy weensy bit for their own health. Added to this, on the basis of the evidence of the retired civil servants last week, the Treasury is in no shape to do anything about it and isn't set up or interested in controlling costs any more. He may talk but he will do nothing. Brown/Balls in government and Wheelan in Unite won't let anything happen whilst they are still in a position to do anything. Still it is good to see another issue where the Tories are edging Labour where they want them to be.

john

Moving the casino bankers from the private to the public sector will tend to have that effect. Add in the ongoing outsourcing of low-paid jobs so that they are in the private sector, and you have the explanation for your statistics.

Comparing like with like, I know that in local government, inflation has constantly outstripped pay rises since at least 2006.

jason

Darling has only said cuts after economy is humming. Darling's PBR had spending increases for 2011-2012. Darling a few months ago was said to disagree with Brown on PBR then said he agreed with him. Ed Balls a few days ago was back to tory cuts again line. Brown has said many times public sector pay will increase and was challenged at a press conference. Brown is PM not Darling. If Brown gets back in Brown will make Ed Balls take over for Darling like his plan was last year. Darling is doing this as an election tactic and what is scary is people are believing it. Brown will never allow any cuts and the gullibility is amazing.

Snowman

Gawain @ 4.46:

a charming take on Darling the vicar, made me chuckle. If true, isn’t it what Labour may need when in the wilderness? Abit of contemplative, back-to-the roots, semi-religious soul searching?

TrevorsDen

Agreed Mr Hoskin this is not an anti Tory post. Rather it exposes Labour failure by their admission they need massive cuts.

The likes of Strapworld and UKIP are simply clutching at any meagre straw to peddle an anti mainstream Conservative line.
They really should explain and justify an attitude which if we followed it would result in another 5 years of a Labour (Brown!) government.

And Tories have not been outflanked - labour are simply playing catch-up.
Lets not forget that tories can only go so far in pushing their economic policy. Assuming they take office they must first asses the soundness of Labours predictions. As an opposition they are severely limited as they can only make assumptions on published govt figures and assumptions.
Do we believe Labours growth and spending assumptions?

Government do not change on the minutiae of erodite economic policy. They change because the incumbents have proved themselves inept and need to be changed. This is the only real power democracy gives the electorate. Throw out the self serving incumbent.

Only loony tunes tamper with that by voting for third and fourth and fifth parties who can only allow the incumbent off the hook of their own making.

Why should they do it? Go figure.

John Richardson

'TrevorsDen'

It is unintelligent to pretend that you do not understand something that you do.
How many times have we all seen politicians pretending to misunderstand questions to avoid answering them.
Unintelligent and boring.

EVERYBODY knows that many on the right regard 'Team Cameron' with disdain.
NOBODY doubts that important 'conservative' values have been abandoned by him.
Some say this is the necessary price of Office.
Some think it is pointless attaining Office without conservative values and/or an agenda that retrieves power from the EU.
Hopefully, time will tell.

Why do you pretend not to be aware of these well known differing perspectives ?
What's the point 'Trevorsden' ?

I'd bet that you, along with 99.99% of those reading this, are fully aware P.Hitchens in his column has stated it is necessary for the Conservative Party to lose again, for a truly representative right wing patriotic Party to emerge.
You know this and yet you pretend that you do not.
Instead you prefer to insult those with whom you disagree.
You prefer to ignore this debate on the right. Pretending that only 'loony tunes' could think differently to you.
Obviously, I would say that this is because you cannot win that debate. I would say your intellectual cowardice obliges you to ignore the evidence of Cameron's political treachery.
Why not prove me wrong ?

2trueblue

Does it matter what Darling says now? It's too late mate. Too late to try and pretend that this was your idea Darling, but we all know differently.

Darling has had lots of opportunities to show us he could put the country before the party. He failed.

Major Plonquer

Forget about freezing public sector pay. Why can't we just freeze the public sector? I mean we have the technology (viz: Walt Disney's head).

Six months in suspended animation would clear out a lot of the debt we find ourselves in. And which public services would we actually need? The NHS? Well, with the entire public sector frozen the two hundred odd left - the private sector who pay all their bills - could afford to swan off to Singapore every time we sneezed.

But you may say, what about the enormous cost of freezing them and the subsequent defrosting? Piece of cake. First we create a nuclear winter by nuking Tehran. Then we could defrost the entire planet by giving everyone an Apple iPad. Like all Apple products this will create bucket loads of free heat - with only the occasional exploding battery.

Technology mat be our saviour after all.