ChatterBank6 mins ago
Sir Philip Rutnam Resigns
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I’m rather surprised no one has raised this ;-)
I don’t know whose side to take here other than to note that the Home Secretary is a proven liar ...
Which may or may not be relevant.
It also seems that the PM and the Cabinet Secretary had indeed intervened in this dispute, as so they ought.
And yet ...
I’m rather surprised no one has raised this ;-)
I don’t know whose side to take here other than to note that the Home Secretary is a proven liar ...
Which may or may not be relevant.
It also seems that the PM and the Cabinet Secretary had indeed intervened in this dispute, as so they ought.
And yet ...
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On a more general note, a Permanent Secretary (PS) is in post to ensure that the department enacts the wishes of its Minister. He or she is not there to mould the Minister's will to fit their agenda. It has become increasingly clear that many PSs have their own agendas which do not concur with those of their Ministers. It was clear during the Brexit fiasco that many - if not all - PSs were staunchly anti-Brexit and would do all they could to prevent it happening. If their conflict was apparent over Brexit it's not unreasonable to suspect that conflicts in other areas exist too. For far too long the tail has been wagging the dog. It's time for it to stop and it could be that Sir Philip is not prepared to see that happen.
// It was clear during the Brexit fiasco that many - if not all - PSs were staunchly anti-Brexit and would do all they could to prevent it happening.//
I don't think anything of the sort was clear. It was clear that there were, and remain, serious difficulties with the implementation, and it's also clear that the role of the Civil Service is to implement policy while being honest about the challenges of so doing. "Speaking truth to power, and all that."
I don't think anything of the sort was clear. It was clear that there were, and remain, serious difficulties with the implementation, and it's also clear that the role of the Civil Service is to implement policy while being honest about the challenges of so doing. "Speaking truth to power, and all that."
//I don't think anything of the sort was clear.//
If you believe that, Jim, you've obviously have been reading different reports to me. Yes, Civil Servants have a duty to advise and to highlight potential difficulties. But that's where their brief ends. It's for Ministers and Parliament to make their decisions and obstruction after those decisions have been made is definitely not in the Civil Servants' handbook.
If you believe that, Jim, you've obviously have been reading different reports to me. Yes, Civil Servants have a duty to advise and to highlight potential difficulties. But that's where their brief ends. It's for Ministers and Parliament to make their decisions and obstruction after those decisions have been made is definitely not in the Civil Servants' handbook.
//I didn't see any evidence of it amongst the Civil Service.//
There's been stacks of reports explaining how the Civil Service - from the top to the bottom - was, shall we be kind and say "less than enthusiastic" at the idea of Brexit. Here's just one example:
Unfortunately it's behind the Torygraph's "paywall", but you can get a flavour from the bit you can see:
https:/
"As a civil servant I can tell you large parts of the Whitehall machine are systematically working against leaving the EU. I have met thousands of civil servants in the past few years: I can only recall five who voted for Brexit. At first, I thought they were perhaps just staying quiet given the political climate, but my worst fear was confirmed during the high-profile remainer Gina Miller’s successful court case to make sure Parliament has a say on the Brexit outcome.
When it was announced she had won her case, I witnessed large teams within the Foreign Office break out into cheers and applause."
Of course their motives for not wanting to see the UK leave the EU may be many and varied. It could simply be that they were not too enamoured at the thought of having to undertake the work that their colleagues in Brussels and Strasbourg have been doing on their behalf for the past forty years. Though I suspect their motives are more likely to be a purely ideological.
There are plenty more reports around in a similar vein. There is no doubt in my mind that the CS was staunchly anti-Brexit and that the Mandarins would do all hey could to either thwart it completely or at the very least make the version finally agreed upon to be scarcely any better than remaining. They were in a unique position to do just that as their advice to Ministers was clearly based on a "worst-case" scenario with little or no balancing information surrounding the benefits of Brexit.
There's been stacks of reports explaining how the Civil Service - from the top to the bottom - was, shall we be kind and say "less than enthusiastic" at the idea of Brexit. Here's just one example:
Unfortunately it's behind the Torygraph's "paywall", but you can get a flavour from the bit you can see:
https:/
"As a civil servant I can tell you large parts of the Whitehall machine are systematically working against leaving the EU. I have met thousands of civil servants in the past few years: I can only recall five who voted for Brexit. At first, I thought they were perhaps just staying quiet given the political climate, but my worst fear was confirmed during the high-profile remainer Gina Miller’s successful court case to make sure Parliament has a say on the Brexit outcome.
When it was announced she had won her case, I witnessed large teams within the Foreign Office break out into cheers and applause."
Of course their motives for not wanting to see the UK leave the EU may be many and varied. It could simply be that they were not too enamoured at the thought of having to undertake the work that their colleagues in Brussels and Strasbourg have been doing on their behalf for the past forty years. Though I suspect their motives are more likely to be a purely ideological.
There are plenty more reports around in a similar vein. There is no doubt in my mind that the CS was staunchly anti-Brexit and that the Mandarins would do all hey could to either thwart it completely or at the very least make the version finally agreed upon to be scarcely any better than remaining. They were in a unique position to do just that as their advice to Ministers was clearly based on a "worst-case" scenario with little or no balancing information surrounding the benefits of Brexit.
The clue is here....."" I will be issuing a claim against the Home Office for constructive dismissal.""
May as well throw is a bit of racism and homophobia to make it tick all the boxes that the swamp dwellers so love. This is the useless git who presided over the £13.3 billion West Coast Rail franchise fiasco, £38 billion Network Rail upgrade failure, HS2, £3.1 billion overbudget upgrade to Airwave system in Home Office and, of course, Windrush. Then he was knighted....should have been imprisoned for sabotage. I am trying to link him to the ferry fiasco where the contract was awarded to a company with no ships but the web likes to hide these secrets for them. Would you trust him to walk your dog?
May as well throw is a bit of racism and homophobia to make it tick all the boxes that the swamp dwellers so love. This is the useless git who presided over the £13.3 billion West Coast Rail franchise fiasco, £38 billion Network Rail upgrade failure, HS2, £3.1 billion overbudget upgrade to Airwave system in Home Office and, of course, Windrush. Then he was knighted....should have been imprisoned for sabotage. I am trying to link him to the ferry fiasco where the contract was awarded to a company with no ships but the web likes to hide these secrets for them. Would you trust him to walk your dog?
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