Tag: HMRC
The Tories and "big government".
wgm Sat Nov 24, 2007 at 03:55:46 PM GMT 
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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?
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?
Bye-Bye Darling. It's for the best.
HarryW Tue Nov 20, 2007 at 08:49:05 PM GMT
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One of the things that characterised the Blair administration, and for that matter, the Major Government before it, was the sight of Ministers seeking to cling on to office by their fingertips, no matter what. There was always enough blame for so many others that no culpability was left for themselves.
Irrespective of the problems with his handling of the Northern Rock bailout, losing the personal details of half the country should not just cost the Civil Servant in charge of the the HMRC his job.
Irrespective of the problems with his handling of the Northern Rock bailout, losing the personal details of half the country should not just cost the Civil Servant in charge of the the HMRC his job.
