European Tribune - Community, Politics & Progress.

LQD: UK New Sense of Direction??

by In Wales
Wed May 14th, 2008 at 10:54:35 AM EST

As usual, a LQD based on a TUC press release, where the TUC appears pleased with the "new sense of direction" from Gordon Brown's statement on the draft legislative programme announced today:

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “The Prime Minister’s statement today contains many welcome measures which will help give the Government a new sense of direction and help re-establish its commitment to fairness.
“In particular we welcome the measures to increase the supply of affordable housing, the extension of the right to request flexible working and the important new right to request training. A new Equality Bill is an opportunity to tackle unfair discrimination. The recognition of the raw deal faced by agency workers will spur unions to step up their campaign for proper protection.
“Tighter regulation of banking is essential. One of the main drivers of current economic difficulties has been that legislators, particularly in the USA, have been too ready to listen to special interest pleading to reduce ‘red tape’. The resulting lack of regulation has allowed bankers to take huge profits and bonuses when risk has paid off, but left tax payers to pick up the pieces when risks go bad.

Not all without criticism though, see below the fold.

“But there are also some dissonant notes in the statement. Boasting of reducing civil servants to 1945 levels is a strange thing for a Labour Prime Minister who believes in an active state to do. The size of the civil service should be sufficient to carry out the tasks set by parliament, not subject to arbitrary cuts or limits.
“Similarly the proposal for regulatory budgets that would limit the amount of regulation that departments can introduce is similarly arbitrary. Of course all regulation needs to be justified, fit for purpose and as user friendly as possible, but if a new consumer scam emerges late in the year will the Government say nothing can be done because the regulatory budget is used up?”

The BBC online adds,

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that helping family finances was his "immediate priority" as he outlined his legislative programme for next year.
The PM pledged more help for first-time buyers, a savings scheme for eight million low earners and more flexible working rights for parents.
The aim was to build a "more prosperous and fairer Britain", he said.
David Cameron said Mr Brown had "run out of steam". Nick Clegg said he had "scraped the barrel to save himself".

Is Brown scraping the barrel after the 10p tax fiasco? Comments?

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LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? (4.00 / 2)

Quite the contrary, while there are some nice-sounding ideas (let's see if they make it through the Commons), there doesn't seem to be any direction at all in Brown's thinking.

Honestly, I don't see how he recovers from the 10p catastrophe. How do you argue for helping low-wage workers with savings when you just raised their income taxes?

Brown's vision is essentially that of a less coherent, and mildly retarded, Alan Greenspan.

Be nice to America. Or we'll bring democracy to your country.

by Drew J Jones (myfriends@thisispancakes.com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 11:15:18 AM EST

Re: LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? (none / 0)

I'm not clued up on the details but there is some discussion of bringing in compensatory measures for those affected by the 10p tax thing. But still...

Ad astra per aspera

by In Wales (inwales aaat eurotrib.com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 02:14:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? (none / 0)

The Americans have the idiom "to turn a corner."

And we all know what happens when you turn four corners in a row :-P

- Jake

"Terraforming your own planet to make it uninhabitable hardly counts as epic win." - ThatBritGuy

by JakeS (JangoSierra 'at' gmail 'dot' com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 11:45:23 AM EST

Re: LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? (none / 1)

Reducing civil servants and introducing 'regulatory budgets' is following the ideology of the limited state, which means less regulation and more market. But hilariously, he even gets it wrong anyway but setting up entirely abitrary limits. The idea that 'some' state is good, but 'too much' is bad, and that there is a definite dividing line between the two sets himself up to satisfy neither side.

Member of the Anti-Fabulousness League since 1987.

by Ephemera on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 11:51:04 AM EST

Re: LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? (none / 1)

We certainly have too much State in the UK, and mostly the wrong sort, so getting rid of some of it wouldn't be bad.

But he's not going to be cutting jobs at the Treasury and making Treasury seat-fillers accountable.

So we'll probably see yet more spending on consultants who cost a fortune and whose answer to saving money is to offer yet more consultancy.

Brown's tragedy is that this heart is more or less in the right place, but he's completely lacking in either the vision or the charisma needed to create any positive changes which aren't trivial and superficial.

Savings schemes for low income earners is a good 'un. As prices on everything go up, there's going to be plenty of opportunity to use those to the full.

by ThatBritGuy (thatbritguy (at) googlemail.com) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 11:56:26 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? (none / 1)

That's the thing, he's ignoring the debate about how big the state should be or what its functions are, and instead skips to 'results' of fewer civil servants and less regulation.

Member of the Anti-Fabulousness League since 1987.

by Ephemera on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 12:08:01 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? (4.00 / 2)

European Tribune - LQD: UK New Sense of Direction??

a savings scheme for eight million low earners

The problem is that none of the poor sods has anything to "save" any more.....

European Tribune - Comments - LQD: UK New Sense of Direction??

The PM pledged more help for first-time buyers,

....while any subsidies to first time buyers merely serves to prop up already daft land prices.

Modern conservatives engage in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy: the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.Galbraith

by ChrisCook (cojockathotmaildotcom) on Wed May 14th, 2008 at 11:58:42 AM EST

LQD: UK New Sense of Direction?? | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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