The new Tory 'Easycouncils

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I'm given to understand the Tory head office line at the mo is with a political leadership the council doesn't need a CEO. Councillors, whose average age is 68 or something, are in it for social status and ideological conviction and can sack and appoint the CEO if they so choose. Indeed, when the political complexion of the council chamber changes the CEO's position usually becomes untenable and they retire.

And council bureacrats are often highly incompetent or corrupt or both.
They dont manage to get all the way to the top by either telling the truth or getting elected.

So are bar staff. So's everyone. The idea that people at "the top" have less integrity than their subordinates is a bit boy scout really. The seven deadly sins again.

Not so much in the metropolitan areas maybe, out in the regions where 40% of households rely on a public sector income, local government is used as employer of last resort. The resulting incompetence and turpitude is a matter for the overview and scrutiny committee and the Audit Commission. I agree it's far from some super fantastic model of participative democracy, at the same time it's a reasonable enough aggregate of the electorate's values to head off calls for much in the way of structural change.

 

[where to]

It was billed as Britain's first "easyCouncil", a flagship for the government's town hall spending cuts and a model of no-frills prudence. But it has emerged that the London borough of Barnet is spending more trying to find efficiencies than it is actually saving.

The Conservative-controlled north London council has committed to spending £1.5m this financial year on a much-hyped reform programme to help close a yawning budget gap, but it is on course to recoup just £1.4m in savings in the year.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/26/barnet-no-frills-council-overspends

 

[shagnasty]

Smaller bins could just result in more fly tipping / litter which is more expensive to deal with than normal refuse collection (I think) and will make the area scummy looking as well.

I live in barnet and the part of burnt oak were i live is almost totally ignored by barnet council litter is everywhere and i often see the rats in the back alleys

 

[trevhagl]

Problem with local democracy is you dont get to elect the people who do the day to day running. You get to elect a few people who get paid expenses but you dont get to vote for any of the wellpaid chief executives or heads of departments and that is where most of the real power lies.
And council bureacrats are often highly incompetent or corrupt or both.
They dont manage to get all the way to the top by either telling the truth or getting elected.

Councils do waste a load of money on overpaid top brass and consultants . I don't think they can even see people think it's wrong!

 

[trevhagl]

I'm given to understand the Tory head office line at the mo is with a political leadership the council doesn't need a CEO. Councillors, whose average age is 68 or something, are in it for social status and ideological conviction and can sack and appoint the CEO if they so choose. Indeed, when the political complexion of the council chamber changes the CEO's position usually becomes untenable and they retire.

So are bar staff. So's everyone. The idea that people at "the top" have less integrity than their subordinates is a bit boy scout really. The seven deadly sins again.

Not so much in the metropolitan areas maybe, out in the regions where 40% of households rely on a public sector income, local government is used as employer of last resort. The resulting incompetence and turpitude is a matter for the overview and scrutiny committee and the Audit Commission. I agree it's far from some super fantastic model of participative democracy, at the same time it's a reasonable enough aggregate of the electorate's values to head off calls for much in the way of structural change.

integrity or not , offering a job on £150,000 a year is a lottery - you MAY get someone with integrity but you're equally likely to get someone who thinks "great! These daft cunts are offering me £150,000 a year - i'll do it for a few years and retire"

 

[Das Uberdog]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/oct/26/barnet-no-frills-council-overspends

inefficiency in the easycouncils..

 

[ericjarvis]

Smaller bins could just result in more fly tipping / litter which is more expensive to deal with than normal refuse collection (I think) and will make the area scummy looking as well.

Well yeah, but that will be described as not the council's responsibility and residents will be charged extra to clear it up.

 

[nino_savatte]

This is feeding my hopeless dream that the Tories, when they win a 100 seat majority next year, will be far more Thatcherite than they've let on to the plebs. I'm envisioning school vouchers, tax opt-outs from the NHS and massive cuts in the social security budget.

If only the whole Tory party was as awesome as Dan Hannan

So what you're hoping for is for this country to resemble Chile circa 1980?

Dan Hannan is an idiot...a rather rich and privileged idiot who admires Ayn Rand.

 

[frogwoman]

He's a bloodthirsty fucking cunt who hates people who aren't as privileged as himself. The tories were more sensible than yourself, they banished him to europe to keep the cunt out of the way.

 

[moon23]

This is feeding my hopeless dream that the Tories, when they win a 100 seat majority next year, will be far more Thatcherite than they've let on to the plebs. I'm envisioning school vouchers, tax opt-outs from the NHS and massive cuts in the social security budget.

If only the whole Tory party was as awesome as Dan Hannan

I don't think the Conservative party has anywhere near the stomach for this, they couldn't even manage a bonfire of the quangoes.

 

[frogwoman]

no, just that they know that hannan is a lunatic and a liability even for the tories.

 

[nino_savatte]

When Cameron was asking the country what things should be cut, I was goingto reply by saying yours and Gideon's throats.

 

[Quartz]

Is it worth quietly egging on this council and letting them prove what prats they are? Short term pain for longer term gain?