BS: Conservative local government cuts

Subject: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 06:31 AM

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/oct/19/councils-privatise-oxford-save-our-services

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 06:43 AM

You choose as usual, to ignore the dire overspending of Labour over 13 years.

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: Dave Hanson
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 07:38 AM

Oi Boko, you can't go on blaming Labour for everything forever, but seeing as it's you, you probably will.

Dave H

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: GUEST,Bluesman
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 07:53 AM

Cleaning up the mess left by a Labour government.

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 08:34 AM

A lot of the mess goes back to the Heath government of 1971!

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: Leadfingers
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 09:24 AM

It WAS Heath who pushed us into Bloody Europe ! The Referendum was for an Economic Community NOT a Federation of European States

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 10:13 AM

That's not what I meant. Although I probably benefited personally from the 'liberalisation' of the banking market. The main problem with Europe has been its doctrinaire adherance to the 'free market'.

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: GUEST,Bluesman
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 10:15 AM

We all want this country sorted out, yes there will have to be painful cuts in services to balance the books. Labour created this mess, get real.

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: Dave MacKenzie
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 10:31 AM

"The essential English leadership secret does not depend on particular intelligence. Rather, it depends on a remarkably stupid thick-headedness. The English follow the principle that when one lies, one should lie big, and stick to it. They keep up their lies, even at the risk of looking ridiculous." Joseph Goebbels, 1941

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: BTNG
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 10:37 AM

and tell the lie often enough and it becomes the truth, the Nazis were brilliant at that.

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: GUEST,999
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 10:37 AM

Uh huh!

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 11:26 AM

Following intervening events, please now redirect discussion regarding this thread here – to my original "Nobody likes a Tory" thread - thread.cfm?threadid=140808#reply

It will save multiple postings of the same objections to criticisms of conservatism.

Subject: RE: BS: Conservative local government cuts
From: VirginiaTam
Date: 19 Oct 11 - 03:10 PM

As part of my council job (lowly business support) I manage a load of volunteers who in effect are taking real work away from qualified professionals. Also I should know just before Christmas if my post is going away as business support is being restructured into one service with service level agreements to the myriad services they support. Lots of redundancies and lots of downgrades.

The effect of the cuts will mean that managers, officers, social workers, etc. who actually deliver services to the public will be tasked with doing much more of the business support work (filing, answering phones, minute taking, arranging meetings and travel, ordering goods and services) for themselves because there will not be the support staff to do it. More time doing admin work mean less time delivering services.

Eventually every service will be expected to become self supporting financially too, which means commissioning (managing services and projects for other authorities) and going traded company and selling service back to the council. We know what the grand plan in our council has been for a long time. Just one small very highly paid top level organisation, contracting with external businesses for all public service provision.

We have also seen how this model fails, especially for vulnerable people. Once the council removes itself from the direct service provision they can easily wriggle out of failings of private companies to deliver the provision. Care homes come to mind.