8ball
Decolonise colons!
But under the rubric of a “dynamic Silicon Valley disruptors” style thing.
'super talented weirdos'- Dominic Cummings wants your cv
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But under the rubric of a “dynamic Silicon Valley disruptors” style thing.
Can absolutely see that pov
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Yes, of course. Why the fuck else are they proposing this?
Buddy Bradley
Pantheistic solipsist
Can't argue with that. A friend of mine was in charge of the gov.uk rebuild (from the tech side), and told me that getting any actual decisions made came down purely to which side could get someone into a room with the highest rank.
Athos
Well-Known Member
Because Johnson has a long history of behaving as if the rules don't apply to him (and getting away with it), and Cummings is completely unaccountable.
And because they have history in this regard e.g.prorogation.
Also because both the form and content of the 'advertisement' demonstrate a contempt for existing norms; the former in its complete disregard for civil service rules around fair and open competition (and, arguably GDPR); the latter insofar as it makes clear they have the majority to do what they want, with little care what people think.
But most of all because the plan is essentially to negate the checks and balances provided by a politically independent civil service by replacing it with hand- picked (no doubt politically-aligned) individuals, with the express intention of enacting Tory policy quicker. Tory policy which, I'm sure will, as ever, be to the detriment of the working class (which makes up most people in the country), and to the benefit of the tiny elite whose interests they really represent.
Undoubtedly, the civil service needs to improve e.g. the speed of decision making, but Cummings' ideas are not the best way to acheive that, and will cause lots of damage.
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Pickman's model
Starry Wisdom
yeh. but there are worthwhile solutions and there are shit solutions and i very much doubt the current administration will opt for any of the former.
Manter
Lunch Mob
They have a history of head to heads with the civil service. Johnson felt the FCO was briefing against him, and treated him with contempt, both have said repeatedly that the civil service is too slow, to restricted by rules, set out to thwart the Tory grand vision. Also the sneery bit about oxford humanities grads (while amusing given he and half the tory government are one), and the contempt that shines through for the civil service is a giveaway.
Zero because if you are a consultant you come in to do a defined piece of work but remain employed by the consulting firm. I knew of three or four secondees in 15 years, which wouldn’t register, statistically
Manter
Lunch Mob
Already been done. Things like legal aid being restricted or removed, appeals only allowed after punishment has been implemented, having to fund your own higher appeals, reduction in the right to appeal, reduced right to trial by jury, huge numbers of courts closed- already happened
Manter
Lunch Mob
If the solution to any of those problems is Cummings, I’ll eat my hat
Fair enough. It sounds more to me as if they’re trying to recruit a relatively small group of individuals to shake things up and see what new ideas come out. Rather than replace the entire checks and balances of a politically independent civil service?
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
I mean, why would they lie about anything? They’ve got our best interests at heart after all
redsquirrel
This Machine Kills Progressives
Cummings can fuck off but lets not fall for this apolitical neutral civil service rubbish. The civil service are political, they always have been political and always will be.
The civil service do need to "disrupted" it's just that the particular "disruption" advocated is crap.
Athos
Well-Known Member
We're talking about a group of people very close to the PM, who will be central to delivering Boris'/Cummings' programme. To have this done by Cummings' hand-picked group of odballs rather than civil servants doesn't even attempt to maintain the illusion of political independence.
bellaozzydog
rolling turds in glitter
The legal system is limping along like a lame horse as it is. Ripe for more fuckwittery/Tory captive bolt gun
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SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
The civil service is already political. Just as the new version will be. But it will be the politics of those who believe themselves to be apolitical, or rather those who do not feel obliged to stop and consider the political implications of what they do. Technocratic governance is inherently authoritarian, and therefore inherently political.
That bit did make me laugh. But it’s no surprise surely that political parties have long been interested in the psychology of persuasion and manipulation.
eoin_k
Lawyer's fees, beetroot and music
Not just any party: the natural party of government, your social superiors in government, led by yet another Eton educated Oxbridge graduate, the party that brought you the Battle of Orgreave, the Poll Tax, Section 28, Universal Credit, Food Banks, privatisation of the Royal Mail (BT, Water, Rail, Electricity...), mass unemployment, deregulation, off-hand remarks about piccanninies with watermelon smiles and hang Mandela stickers.
Who'll have the last laugh Edie ?
Manter
Lunch Mob
I can’t remember (because I’m old and my constitutional law module was a million years ago) how policy making is ‘supposed’ to work- I know SPaDs became a big thing in the Blair years, but I can’t remember whether, once policy ideas have come from MPs, they go straight to committee? Government programmes are supposed to come from within the party aren’t they? And then the civil service implements and runs
Spandex
A crazy bulbous punchbag of sound
Perhaps I should've said 'overtly politicising'.
Of course the civil service has it's own 'small-c' conservative political culture (and each department it's own politics within that) which governments left and right have to navigate if they want to change anything. But that's different to governments appointing their own mandarins who identifiably support their programme and need replacing every time a new government comes to power.
Winot
I wholeheartedley agree with your viewpoint
Isn't it that policy comes from Ministers rather than MPs? Committees get involved during the legislative process. Ministers have a pretty free hand to do what they want (although they can be criticised by Select Committees).
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
These above posts are sort of they lazy idea of a apolitiocal technocratic just doing business civil service comes from. Neither of them agree on what happens both agree it's ok.
It's actually odd, those that are most slavishly in favour of euorpoean models - PR and the like, seem not to like what it produces - a politicised clientelist state staffed by paid members. Let's be like europe.
It's actually odd, those that are most slavishly in favour of euorpoean models - PR and the like, seem not to like what it produces - a politicised clientelist state staffed by paid members. Let's be like europe.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
Thinking about this today I've really been amazed at how rubbish it is (partly because various people have emailed me saying "ha ha you are weird and unemployed and techie you should go for it"). It manages to be a half-arsed Bannon imitation as well as use half-arsed "disruptor" stuff which has been considered embarrassing for years in the tech fields he's theoretically aiming at. The only area in which it could look even slightly impressive is one that's basically purged anyone vaguely thoughtful - hello, modern Tory party.
The approach definitely reminds me of various parts of New Labour.
The approach definitely reminds me of various parts of New Labour.
iamwithnail
Well-Known Member
^^^ 100% that, working in startups and the same fields, and having been in the CS until the Tories got in. It's abject nonsense. I read it as a call to alt right academics and wackos who can't get their papers through peer review.
Proper Tidy
Arsed
Somebody should explain to the little cunt that there is nothing as politically disruptive as communism
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
imagine being the intern tasked with looking through all the applications from skull-measurers and perpetual motion inventors
Treacle Toes
Time
He is advertising for the equivalent of a tech savvy, alt-right, men's rights activist, oddball pick up artist...this is not a good thing, it's not to shake things up in any way positive, it's to create chaos under the guise of 'doing something different' ...it's not a new game Edie ...Putin and his chaos merchants did the same, Trump and Bannon too...Johnson and Cummings now....Just realised that our new duo is descriptively a circle jerk.
The only thing that will happen is that populist half truths will be the thing that people grasp onto like they have elsewhere, continued rise of fash/ethno nationalism and we are going nowhere nice, fast.
FridgeMagnet
Administrator
This sounds painfully familiar from the POV of private industry.
Dogsauce
I’ve got Skol but I’m not a Scholar
that independence was on display when all those Facebook recruitment ads for 20,000 coppers were filling up my feed ahead of the election, strangely we haven’t seen them since, nor the announcements about government funding for regional towns, most being conveniently in marginal constituencies. Your tax dollars at work promoting the Tory party. Assumed that was Cumming’s work, targeted messaging.
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