Margaret Hodge discusses Numismatics This was added from the site called flickr.com under the name portableantiquities. See source for details. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
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Personally, I am full of admiration for the PAC – it seems to protect politicians and Civil Servants from their grossest excesses. I think that the chair, Margaret Hodge does a first-rate job.
As for the cost reduction, the term report says shows promise but will have to work harder next term…
One is tempted to say what reductions.
Last year, the Government borrowed more money than it took in by a margin of £20 billion gbp and this year and next it will be the same so the idea that any serious attempt to cut waste, fraud and outright criminality is a myth.
In Local government, Eric Pickles is “surprised to learn” about the number of Council Chief Executives on more than £100,000 gbp a year, despite the fact that there are far too many Local Authorities, too much layering and too much junketing.The same applies to Police and Fire commands which, as has been done in Scotland (where they were reduced from 8 of each to 1 of each), we could reduce from 43 of each to 12 of each with Local Authorities being reduced from 43 to 12 (each authority would be the same size as a French Departement).
The remaining councils could then be abolished thus getting rid of districts, boroughs, City councils and mid county councils.
All their functions should be outsourced to people like Serco, as has recently happened in Peterborough.
In Central Government, there are at least twice the number of Civil Servants as a small country like ours needs, with the MOD and the Home Office still the most wasteful and badly run. Their numbers need to be reduced sharply.
Then we have the other drains on resources, a Monarchy that consumes far more money than it brings in, foreign wars which we have no hope of winning and which represent a loss of blood and treasure with no end in sight (World War 2 lasted 6 years Afghanistan has lasted for 11 and still the only beneficiaries seem to be drug barons such as Hamid Karzai,s brother and those associated with him).
We should only fight wars when we have a realistic prospect of winning them and have a clear objective which eveyone however stupid can actually understand. Afghanistan does not meet that test.
The Church of England needs to lose its elevated status because it too is failing to do its job. Abolition of the right of Bishops to sit in the House of Lords and meddle politically would be a good start.
We are 17th in the World when it comes to delivering value for money for taxpayers and we should benchmark ourselves to countries which are much better and then drive hard to close the gap with them over a 5 year Parliament.
At the same time as we are reducing deficits, we should be selling our way out of trouble and that means waging economic warfare by quadrupling the size of our export salesforce, teaching languages through the Pimsleur method and targeting markets in South America, SE Asia and growing countries in Africa rather than wasting time and money on a moribund Europe which has not created a single nett new job in 25 years and apart from Germany is essentially bankrupt.
Margaret Hodge does a good job, insofar as it goes, because she has no power to sack anyone or force change.
The system allows the country to waste money on overseas aid, the Barnett Formula to remain in place, the HMRC to let major companies off their tax bills (Vodaphones tax bill of £6 billion gbp was written off by Dave Hartnett who recently retired as HMRC CEO on a full pension of £162k gbp a year), undeclared wars to be waged and all manner of stupid decisions to be made by people with no experience of business, commerce or anything other than their gilded lives as University graduates and dining companions of people with inherited wealth.
As a country we need to increase airport capacity or risk losing business and inward investment yet the Government keeps listening to Nimbies,the RSPB and retired “Bufton Tuftons” who no longer serve any useful purpose. The A14 carries 50% of our exports yet the Government wants to build a toll road starting in 2020. It needs widening now as every day that passes causes damage to our balance of payments through the congestion that its users endure on an almost daily basis.
The attitude of complacency and ineptitude needs to be replaced with a messianic desire to turn things around,something which our ruling elite, including the opposition, seem completely and utterly incapable of doing.
John, I agree with the broad thrust of your argument but probably would see the priorities differently. For example, I am pro-monarchy.
For me, it’s about time that Prime Minister Cameron had a major reshuffle or better still called a snap election.
Certainly, over a year ago, Benedict Brogan, the Deputy Editor at the Telegraph, was commenting that David Cameron was not a reformer and was only interested in staying in power.