The following article in the Sunday Telegraph this week reminds us of how Tories govern - by feathering the nests of the few, at the expense of the many:
"When Joe Duckworth resigned as chief executive of Isle of Wight Council to take on the best-paid job in local government at Newham, his decision to leave after less than two years in the post surprised and angered many on the island.
Mr Duckworth had promised to turn around the Isle of Wight's fortunes when he arrived there in 2006.
But the island council, which had been awarded only two out of four stars in the Audit Commission's annual quality ratings for 2005 and 2006, received the same low grade again in the 2007 ratings published earlier this year.
A two star rating is defined as "only at minimum requirements". Only one in six councils has a rating of two stars or lower.
In its report for 2007, published this year, the Audit Commission said Isle of Wight Council was "improving well" overall, but also found that it was the only council in England which had worsened over the course of the year in the key performance area of "financial standing".
Mr Duckworth, a father-of-three and a keen mountain biker and surfer, has worked in local government since 1991, with previous stints at York, Surrey, Hackney and City of Westminster.
He was paid £150,000 a year as boss of Isle of Wight Council, far above his predecessor who received only just over £80,000 a year. His policies included striving to turn the island into an "Eco Isle". But he appears to have alienated some local councillors.
"His departure sparked very mixed feelings," said one councillor who asked not to be named. "People were very cross with him because he achieved very little. But at the same time there was a collective sigh of relief that he was leaving.
"When he arrived we were a two-star council, and we are still a two-star council now he has gone."
Critics on the island claim his time in office was marked by expensive pipe dreams and low morale at the town hall. His personal manner and communication skills were not to everyone's liking.
One female councillor, who asked not to be named, said: "He swore like a trooper, stamped his feet a lot and shouted. You wouldn't think of it when you first met him, but that was the way he operated.
"A lot of people used to complain about that, but they were too scared to complain to his face. There was a real atmosphere of fear at the council."
Mr Duckworth dismissed the complaints about swearing as sour grapes. He said he had curtailed his use of bad language after the matter was raised with him on the Isle of Wight"
21 comments:
Duckworth wasn't the only one who benefited from the Tories rush to impose their dogma at any cost - the many hired gun interims that Little Joe bought in were paid at a £1000 a day for over a year.The majority have proved to be useless destroying morale and driving the Council towards bankruptcy.....
Now I know for sure you are doing it on purpose. Now where's my big key?
Will Steve Beynon be better, he couldn't be worse?
Roll on 2009, meanwhile get ready for the hype. It will be interesting to see the political liasons taking shape and the promises oh so sincerely given.
Laughed my socks off at Besley's latest p*** take (toddler,playpen and toys).
Banks are putting overdraft rates up for small businesses while the taxpayer (which includes small business owners) bails out the greedy banks.
How much more proof do you want that Brown is in the pockets of the money men and couldn't give a toss for the ordinary people of this country? If Darling can order the B of E to drop Base Rate then he can make it a condition of the bail-out that the banks keep their rates down.
This government doesn't care about people, only about staying in power and troughing. I feel sorry for decent Labour supporters, even if you are misguided (IMHO), it must be painful for you to watch it.
D.R.
Government Liabilities.
Public Sector net debt @ £543 billion
PFI debt @ £91 billion
Nuclear decomissioning @ £ 73 billion
Public Sector Pensions @ £1 TRILLION
Northern Rock £100 billion
Network Rail @ £20 billion
Total £1898000000000.00
GDP = £1473000000000.00
Percentage of GDP = 129%
This doesn't include bank bailouts.
Pleae feel free to correct me if I have got it wrong, as I'm sure you will.
D.R.
Your figures are, so far as I can tell, correct - and only a fool would pretend they represent a pretty picture. But what conclusions do you come to on the basis of them? Government could scale back expenditure, drastically (eg, we still maintain an armed forces out of all proportion to the size of our country, economy, or importance); it could increase the tax take on business and/or on individuals; it could leave struggling banks to fail, as Nigel Lawson the other day suggested it should. It could reform education and the NHS to achieve savings - it could certainly scrap the quangos it still creates, even after scrapping some of the old ones. I should be in favour of some of that at least. I don't know how much it would save, but it should save a good deal if government were committed to doing it.
Yes, Minister tackled the issue of government waste years ago - it's not a new argument or a new problem. But no one has done it! Government departments remain committed to the expansion of their empire and their power, whatever they say about cutting down; and when cuts are made, they affect those least able to protest against them.
We all know, or should know, the basis of the problem, or anyway of part of it. But no party has yet mastered the art of joined-up government which, unless I have him wrong, is the point D.R. is making.
It relates to local government in many ways, not least that we have paid huge salaries to people who neither deserve nor earn them, at the top of the tree, recruiting from the likes of Westminster City Council. Why? All these people do is come here for a couple of years, enhance their already plump pensions, then move away t0 cause minor mayhem elsewhere, having achieved nothing. Eco-island was one of Duckworth's wheezes; I have yet to meet anyone, outside the council's cabinet, who has a clue what it means.
And now worse still! Our money will bail out Iceland depositers, pension funds and god knows who else. This country is now bankrupt.
The 'golden rules' torn up today as they plunged us into even more debt. The many forced to save the few. F*** em would be my policy. If you invest in Iceland you should look to Iceland if you lose out. No doubt the investors were tempted by generous interest rates.
Be afraid, be very afraid. We're in for the worst economic depression ever seen. Start building more prisons, the UK crime rate will go through the roof as 2 maybe 3 million become unemployed. Put some extra locks on the doors too.
The new labour dream was all a nightmare.
Great Britain, R.I.P.
To DR - it is very painful to watch, though I'm not sure that we have much choice if we are to remain as a 'liberal democracy' participating in the global economy ! As a Ryde trade unionist tells me regularly - its all part of what the the 'Con/Lab/Lib federation'would do.......
Personally it seems like the government is effectively nationalising the banks' losses, but leaving in private hands the profits, so that taxpayers will probably have to pay for this crisis caused by greedy bankers.
Easy credit has been a real problem for far too long, and bankers have lost all credibility. They should be made pay......
Now I may be saying this to the wrong people but don't you think that the bloated public sector in general (and not just the few at the top) could be a good starting point for making savings?
Personally I am sick of watching my hard-earned small private pension go down the pan while others have no such worries, nor are they held accountable. It's not their money they are throwing around and they seem to have no conscience about how it affects the rest of us.
As someone who has always worked and contributed, if it wasn't for the fact that the mortgage has to be paid or the family is out on the street, then I would be tempted to say "stuff it, I'm going on the dole". At least then I wouldn't have to get angry about the misuse of my tax and NI because I wouldn't be paying any.
Of course I am not that irresponsible,so I won't, but I have some sympathy with those who do give in. Perhaps I'll see if I can get a job in the public sector on the basis that 'if you can't beat them, join them'.
Another £50 billion 'spent' today, another £200 billion promised. Where does the money come from? They asked this simple question a lot today. It was fairly clear they're not sure is the answer. Trust me, it's real money and you and I will pay for it. Whatever the banks losses, however huge you'll still owe what you've always owed plus a bit more, your share of today is £2,000.
Geoof is right. They let the lenders lend so much its our problem not theirs. Trouble is without this lending Labour couldn't have spent. Nor could they have convinced most of us that we were in an endless boom. Next time a bank lends money how will we stop them from believing we'll bail them out again and again? Answer, I don't know.
Without this free and easy borrowing life as it has been this past 10 - 20 years cannott return. One estate agent told me today my house was worthless because no-one could afford to buy it. This is going to take decades to resolve.
What a terrible mess.
Anybody know if the IOW council has got money invested in Iceland Bank?
Only a crass Labour councillor would post this rubbish on the day a Labour government lost 200 billions in the financial market bail out.
So the bailout is a waste then ? Not what cheesy Cameron is saying. You sound more like an old-style communist.Also I thought today was 8th October.
The article about Joe 'thanks for the dosh' Duckworth is relevant because it shows how what has happened in central government has filtered down and is poisoning all levels of government. Be they Lab/Lib or Con, it makes no difference, everything has been politicised. Now why would that be?
Politicians will be politicians and the rot won't stop just because the country is heading for a recession. The piggies will be jostling at the trough until it's completely empty.
D.R.
Good point, I have no love for any of them . The trough must be empty. And the pension trough so jealously guarded by council/ state employees is certainly empty. You lot in the public sector will have to join the rest of us in a poverty stricken old age. I'd bet most of us will freeze to death in our old age the way things are going.
Again, does anyone know if the IOW council has money invested in Icelandic banks? Councillor Lumley, over to you.
IWC STATEMENT ON BANK INVESTMENTS
Date published: 09/10/2008
Barry Abraham, IW Council cabinet member for residents and resources, said: "The Isle of Wight Council is not one of the local authorities to have investments with Icelandic banks. The council continually keeps its investment portfolio under review.
Our Treasury Management Strategy also incorporates safeguards such as capping the limits of money deposited with individual institutions and spreading these investments across only the top-rated financial houses."
Many thanks for that info. They're not as financially reckless as some authorities then.
Mind you, just cause the IWC didn't have it's money in Icelandic banks doesn't mean it isn't help somewhere just as vulnerable!!
This government doesn't give a flying one about ordinary people, making apologies for Blair and Brown is deplorable. Labour will be kicked in to touch at the election and the Tories will be back for 10 years or more!! and you know what? we won't even notice the difference anymore.
only my opinion obviously, but getting back to the original story... the people who recruited the infamous JD really should be held accountable for the absolute waste of money that he was.
How anyone can say it was a surprise that he left was completely beyond me. There was not attempt in his time at the IWC to hide the fact it was being used as a stepping stone to a bigger better job elsewhere - the lack of willingness to commit to the Island just one example.
From the outset it was clear he was going to waste money, massively increase the salaries of those directly below him and be interested in nothing but SPIN that would get him good coverage in the press to enable his new job applications - why can't the people who insisted on recruiting him be brought to task on it.
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