Monday 29 September 2008

Who on earth is that.......Why, it's the Tory front bench!

They might cost a lot but no one knows what good they do. People on the street don't seem to even know what they look like. That's what the Telegraph found recently when they took to the streets of Birmingham to ask if people knew who the Tory front bench were.

They hadn't a clue!

Not to worry, Cobblers strugglers with the blighters too. The Telegraph asked 40 people on the streets of the city hosting the Tory conference to name the 20 photos they had in possession.

The answers were hilarious as well as revealing.

The residents of Birmingham suggested that Francis Maude, the Shadow Cabinet
Office Minister, was "slightly Hugh Hefner".

Michael Gove, the Shadow Secretary for Children, Schools and Families, was confidently identified as Zammo, the heroin-addicted schoolboy from the long-running television series Grange Hill.

Only one person knew Oliver Letwin, the cerebral chairman of the Conservative
Research Department, but two suggested he was Nigel, the loveable but hapless
EastEnders character.

Theresa May, the leopardskin shoes-wearing Shadow Leader
of the Commons, may be delighted to hear she was considered "a cross between
Judy Garland and Rita Hayworth." The next person said she was more like Jane
Rossington, who played Jill Richardson in Crossroads. And one woman thought she
was Ruth Kelly.


The survey showed the Shadow Cabinet as far more anonymous than the Labour ministers. Eleven out of the sample of 20 were unrecognisable to all surveyed. Only four shadow ministers – Mr Cameron, George Osborne, the Shadow Chancellor, William Hague, the Shadow Foreign Secretary, and Liam Fox, the Shadow Defence Secretary - were identified more than once.

Our favourite comment however has to be from one lovely old dear Sandra Gillett said of Dave;

"I grew up a Conservative and he has got my vote. He looks like a young John Wayne - and John Wayne was lovely when he was younger."

....Dear me!

Wednesday 24 September 2008

52 into 7 won’t go…Better sharpen up your CVs folks!

As we breathlessly hurtle towards the dawn of our new super-duper unitary authority next year – reassuringly to be called Durham County Council – it seems that the new slimline body won’t have room for many senior officers.

Top bods from eight local councils in the county will, apparently, have to re-apply for their jobs because a new-look team of just seven senior officers will replace the current squad of 52.

And it appears that the 52 won’t just be competing amongst themselves to be members of the ‘Magnificent Seven’ – they’ll have to beat off applications from external candidates, too.

It’s already been trumpeted that the yet-to-be-born unitary council will need to make savings of over £21 million.

Best guess at the moment is that the ’52 into 7’ exercise will save more than £3 million in wages alone. (You can almost hear the rustle of paper as old CVs get dusted off and updated, can’t you?)

On the subject of money – a subject very dear to this scribe’s heart – it seems that the first chief executive of the new authority will be paid a salary of ‘around £200,000’ per year.

You might be interested to know that this figure is some £13,000 a year MORE than the Prime Minister receives for steering UK plc through stormy waters and difficult times.

I’ll leave you to draw your own ‘value for money’ conclusions…….

Everything must change, it seems……except the name

You may recall, dear reader, this earnest scribe’s scorn and derision earlier in the summer when it was learned that Durham County Council was to canvass the opinions of the ‘real people’ (i.e. you and me) in order to help decide the name of the new super-duper unitary authority that would come into being next April……

Well, as the saying goes, the votes have been counted, and the result is……Durham County Council!

A few days ago, the council cabinet held a meeting and they agreed to recommend that the new unitary authority retain the name; it appears ‘more than half’ of those involved agreed with our previous scribblings here. Basically, if it sounds like a council for the county of Durham, then keep it – it does exactly what it says on the tin! (I’d like to know the numbers behind the statement ‘more than half’ above. Was it just over half? A lot more than half? An overwhelming majority?)

A senior council figure commented after the announcement (rather disparagingly I feel), saying: ‘ Many of those who voted for no change did so on the grounds of media ‘guesstimates’ about the cost of re-branding’

Like that’s a bad thing? I think not.

So, as we gird our loins, ready to embrace a new era in local government, we can expect – in the words of the council leader – improved services for the public, clear accountability, stronger community leadership.

Steady on now: at this rate we’re going to expect way too much! However, it is comforting to know that, whatever the radical changes about to take place on our doorsteps, the name remains the same. Durham County Council, we salute you!