mra321's blog

I can't even be bothered to explain why - I think he just is. Anyone else agree?

Remarkably, the Department of Health have just announced Ministerial responsibilities in the department, some three weeks after they were all appointed.

If it takes them this long just to sort out who is doing what job, is it any surprise the health service is in such a mess?

.... but why has it taken so long?

So what have Government Ministers been doing for the last week? Almost five working days after they were appointed, there are many junior Ministers who seemingly do not yet know what they are supposed to be doing. Only a handful of departments have published the responsibilities of their Ministerial team. So what have they been up to? Arguing over who is in charge of photocopying? Debating the wallpaper for their new offices?

And if they do not what they are doing - why haven't we been told?

Is Gordon having problems with his new Business Council already? Curiously, if you go to the No 10 website and look at the index of press releases, there is no mention of the one announcing his plan for the cosy group of corporates advising him (already comments on by bgprior here)

Even more curiously, you can still find the release on the No 10 site if you know where to look. So here it is, if you are struggling.

Inevitably fears are mounting that the costs of staging the 2012 Olympic Games are spiralling out of control. To its credit, the Olympic Devlivery Authority has brought in private sector experts to help them manage the project. However, the inevitable political infighting within government, with everyone and anyone remotely associated with the Olympics seeing it as a gravy train, means that the project is seriously in danger of running over budget and behind time. When will we need to start getting used to the idea of a 2013 Games?

So, the Guardian claims to have successfully cracked the encryption of the prototype new ID cards[don't seem to be able to add the link today].

Everything from the dubious justification, through to the inherent dangers of allowing the publuc sector to take on a project of this scale, suggests that this policy is doomed to failure. The sooner the Government announces a proper review, the better.

The what? You really couldn't make it up. According to a Government press release today, there are apparently there are now thirty-nine dedicated "Catchment Sensitive Farming Officers". I'm sure they are doing a grand job, preventing pesticides harming drinking water and that farmers are really grateful for the "local advice and technical support" they are getting.

Or put it another way, I'm sure farmers will see this as yet more interference by busy bodies trying to tell them how to run a farm effectively. Has anyone actually asked them if they welcome it?

So John Prescott has been sent on a "pointless mission" to represent Britain in the Far East (Telegraph, 25th October).

The claimed cost of £10,000 is the least of our worries. We should be worrying more about what he is up to while he is there. The Far East is important for all kinds of strategic reasons. But is John Prescott really the person to represent us there? Or is it more a case of him having to justify his existence by finding things for himself to do.

John Prescott is an excellent example in microcosm of the problem with big government generally - they need to be able to justify their existence by doing things. It would not be so bad if what they did was simply irrelevant. The real problem is that most of what thge Government does is deeply damaging.

Gordon claims that Britain is enjoying the longest period of sustained growth in its history.  Is he fiddling the figures or simply making it up?  Or is he really the greatest of all time?