The budget not only shows the massive cost to ordinary people of saving fatcat bankers from the consequences of their multiple Ponzi schemes.
It also shows the total politicisation of the Civil Service under New Labour.
The Budget figures on borrowing, tax and spending going forward have been massaged to give the Chancellor political cover, by being based on impossible economic growth projections.
Nobody but nobody believes the Treasury forecast of 1.25% economic growth in 2010 and 3.5% in 2011. The IMF does not believe it and not one respected independent forecaster is so optimistic.
Vince Cable just described it as “Utter fantasy”. Vince Cable is quite correct.
But, as the BBC’s Nick Robinson just told us “Senior Treasury officials say that they stand by these projections.” That the senior civil servants in the Treasury have signed up to impossible projections, to give political support to the Chancellor, is a betrayal of all the values that are supposed to be represented by our Civil Service. What they have signed up to is not in the range of intellectually respectable opinion.
This is not difference of opinion. This is deliberate lying about the country’s economic prospects, by those entrusted with the stewardship of the economy.
Remember these are the same Treasury officials who just six months ago, also with political motivation, projected the fall in GDP this year as, at the top of the range, -1.25%. Just six months later they have radically revised that to -3.5% (which is still an underestimate of the collapse).
The situation is a disgrace, but not an accident. It is a reflection of the relentless politicisation of the senior ranks of the Civil Service under New Labour. Nowhere has that process been more thorough and ruthless than at the Treasury under Gordon Brown. There are now no senior civil servants, in key positions of influence for the budget, who are not New Labour apparatchiks.
Hence this politically motivated forecasting and its execrable quality.
After the next election and once these forecasts are shown for the specious ill-motivated propaganda that they are, every civil servant who signed up to these forecasts must be charged with gross misconduct, sacked, and stripped of their massive index-linked pension.
Not enough has been done to ensure that the bankers who fed fat on their Ponzi schemes cough back their ill-gotten gains after bringing disaster on us all. But the same must apply to the Civil Service too. The Augean stable Brown created must be swept clean of his bullshit so-called public servants.
The projections for growth from the Treasury are fraudulent and infantile – they reflect the same thinking that pervaded the city when major banks declared sqillions of £’s of non existent profits based upon fictional balance sheets.
There has been so much fudging and downright lies for years that to determine the truth is virtually impossble.
Time will soon prove that these new projecions are as fatuous and false as the November Statement.
“Senior Treasury officials say that they stand by these projections.” .. of course they do .. or fall on their swords.
Secret Proceedings from the Office for decisions on Promotion to Cabinet:
“DeMob’s whip,” said Chief Whip Queers, “took to her bed on hearing that he wouldn’t swallow BS, and has been very ill ever since. She wishes to know, ASAP, where he expects to go to if he quarrels with his vittles;
and with what feelings he could turn up his nose at the cow’s leavings, after his good master had asked a blessing on it. This was told her in the London newspapers–not by Mr. Queers, for he is too kind and good to set
anybody against anybody–and it has vexed her so much, that DeMob can’t think straight about the Party’s interests. She is sorry to find he is discontented, which is sinful and horrid, and hopes Mr. Queers will tonguelash him into a happier state of mind.”
“A sulky state of feeling,” said Queers, after a terrible pause. “Cheerfulness and contentment must be kept up. Rulby DeMob, come to my office.”
DeMob moved slowly towards the green door, rubbing his eyes in anticipation of good cause for doing so; and he soon afterwards retired by the side door, with as good a cause as a chastised civil servant need have.
I think that government should change the way they calculate future economic growth forecasts.The current one is not upto the job…
tinyurl.com/c8bydm
New Labour apparatchik…
tinyurl.com/cso4u4
Craig – you are a daily must-read, telling things as no other bloggers (except the likes of Postman Patel & Stef 15 Megapixels) dare to.
Great blog postings lately, much appreciated.
“Massive indexed-linked pensions”? Are you going into business writing leaders for The Mail, Craig?
George,
tinyurl.com/c8bydm
Is that really what they’re using?
There are no veils or inclusions in it. Not even a rainbow!
No wonder we’re going backwards down the drain!
I’ll echo Mikey’s comment above.
Rick
Now there’s a plan!
The senor civil servants at the Treasury will have 6 figure salaries. The hyperbole is to rub home the point of prformance v reward
“After the next election and once these forecasts are shown for the specious ill-motivated propaganda that they are, every civil servant who signed up to these forecasts must be charged with gross misconduct, sacked, and stripped of their massive index-linked pension.”
By who? More senior civil servants who then set precendent to also be charged, sacked and de-pensioned?
Dear Craig
One of the things I bang on about is that Britain is a corrupt society.
Thank you for your article because it highlights what I have been saying for years.
New Labour and their supporters have operated a tightly controlled network that effectively pulls the ladder up from working class people or those who displease them.
The reason that civil servants act they way they do is because of being politicised and out of fear.
You have been a victim of New Labour so you know better than most.
Yours sincerely
George Laird
The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University
23 April 2009
“British chancellor releases austerity budget in worst crisis since WWII”…
http://tinyurl.com/cmwa6y
By that token Craig, when Osbourne takes over the treasury, he will want rid of the top civil servants.
Will that be possible, or will Osbourne have to work with Labour spies?
“By that token Craig, when Osbourne takes over the treasury, he will want rid of the top civil servants.”
“Will that be possible, or will Osbourne have to work with Labour spies?”
Tris
Most of them are like dogs they are loyal to whoever feeds them.For the record most of them are politically…True blues.