The Tories and "big government".

wgm Sat Nov 24, 2007 at 03:55:46 PM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

Much of the Conservative-leaning media has been trying to pin the blame for the HMRC discs loss as representative of cost-cutting mergers in the civil service, and there has been much "insider comment" about empty desks and staff under pressure.

However, we need to remember that at the last election Michael Howard and Oliver Letwin made much of their plans to cut "waste" from the burgeoning government bureaucracy - remember them walking throuh ranks of bowler-hatted and "faceless" cardboard civil servants? Daniel Finkelstein in The Times again makes the argument against "big government", saying in effect that the smaller government is, the fewer mistakes it can make (presumably leaving the private sector to do the work, and the mistakes, instead).

So what would a Conservative convernment do to prevent this from ever happening again (the Tories being uniquely able, of course, to prevent human error)? Would they de-merge HMRC and return the bureaucracy to it's previous size, outsource or do what they have always said they would - cut "big government" down to size?






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The Tories and "big government". | 7 comments (7 topical)

Re: The Tories and "big government". (#1)

by HOWLERMONKEY on Sun Nov 25, 2007 at 06:52:00 AM GMT

It appears that TNT lost at the disc. TNT is a Murdoch operation. Does this monkey smell a rat?


Re: The Tories and "big government". (#2)

by treborc on Sun Nov 25, 2007 at 10:30:38 AM GMT

I smell Labour running for cover, just come out,1,986 main computers have gone missing from the same department all with confidential date on them.


In the end it all comes down to the person in charge does it not Darling.


Re: The Tories and "big government". (#3)

by treborc on Sun Nov 25, 2007 at 10:31:07 AM GMT

thats should be data on them.


[ Parent ]

Re: The Tories and "big government". (#4)

by wgm on Sun Nov 25, 2007 at 01:24:19 PM GMT

Sure, Alastair Darling was afr more responsible for the loss of two discs by a junior civil servant than Lamont was for Black Wednesday (advised by one D. Cameron). How long did it take him to resign? 


[ Parent ]

Re: The Tories and "big government". (#5)

by Force 4 Good on Sun Nov 25, 2007 at 04:54:32 PM GMT

Lets be clear, when the Tories say get Government off peoples backs what they really mean is get Government off the backs of our supporters in big business who want unfettered and unregulated free markets.

Government is a bulwark against this tyranny and the sooner we start putting the case the better.


Re: The Tories and "big government". (#6)

by jkitleft on Sun Nov 25, 2007 at 08:16:10 PM GMT

It's interesting how US Republicans are more in favour of state government (we all know this is bull though, as they love big government when it comes to restricting rights in social issues), but the Tories can't stand devolution


Re: The Tories and "big government". (#7)

by rwendland on Sun Nov 25, 2007 at 10:10:06 PM GMT

The HMRC disc loss episode does illustrate one of the hazards of contracting large systems out. It seems creating bespoke cuts of the data for auditing was omitted from the contract, and apparently the contractor wanted £5,000 for what seems to be about two days work to trim it down to what the NAO needed (which would have excluded parent & bank details). So HMRC sent a copy of the whole database to the NAO to save money (in so doing probably breaking the Data Protection Act).

Often contractors bid low on the main contract, expecting to make profits on extras and necessary contract changes that will come later. This episode shows one downside of this.

HMRC should have coughed up the £5,000 for this despite the overpricing, but in a contracted-out situation you do have to ferociously manage these extras. 


The Tories and "big government". | 7 comments (7 topical)