The jewel in the crown of Samizdata.net
A blog for people with a critically rational individualist perspective. We are developing the social individualist meta-context for the future. From the very serious to the extremely frivolous... lets see what is on the mind of the Samizdata people.

Samizdata, derived from Samizdat /n. a system of clandestine publication of banned literature in the USSR
[Russ.,= self-publishing house]
Learn about the Gadsden flag.


Default font size Large font size Larger font size
There is much to find for those who look
White Rose
Print Version
Blogging Glossary
Pictures
Meme hacks
Merchandise
Samizdata for PDA
Syndicate Samizdata.net
XMLRDF
We are not alone
cobden.png

Libertarian International
Liberty's cause transcends
mere national borders



Made possible by...
Web and graphic design by the dissident frogman

Powered by Movable Type
 
March 07, 2012
Wednesday
 
 
Sir Humphrey returns (not that he ever went away)
Guy Herbert (London)  UK affairs

SkyNews' Sophie Ridge reports:

Whitehall departments spent £1.4 billion in an attempt to save £159 million by sharing back-office functions such as personnel and procurement.

Similar methods in the private sector typically cut a fifth off annual spend within five years, according to the National Audit Office (NAO).

Sir Humphrey [in Yes, Minister - The Economy Drive (1980)]:

Asking a town hall to slim down its staff is like asking an alcoholic to blow up a distillery.

Comments

1.4billion spent to save 159million really takes a special kind of genius :)

I think that Sir Humphrey and his wiley Whitehall ways are well worth studying!


Posted by Hmm at March 7, 2012 11:11 AM

And in other news, a spokesman for the Department of Energy has responded to the allegations of a recent report which determines that wind power is ineffective and exceedingly costly:

"If this sort of short-sighted analysis informed our policies we’d not meet our carbon emission targets and keep the lights on, and the consumer would certainly be worse off," shrieked a DECC spokeswoman to Solar Power Portal, an industry-sponsored 'news' website."

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/03/07/wind_power_how_much/page2.html

The real problem with watching 30 year old re-runs of 'Yes, Minister' is that, the first time round, we could approach it and enjoy it as satire, or even parody, while now we are forced to face the fact that it was a training manual which the government bureaucracy and its quangos have learned far too well.



Posted by Dyspeptic Curmudgeon at March 7, 2012 03:26 PM
Post a comment









Remember personal info?


Enter anti-spambot Turing code:





Select some text and click this to format it as a quote Make the selected text bold Make the selected text italic Add a web link


Basic html active.

Alas, but for obscure reasons Mozilla, Mac and Linux users shall not harness to power of the push-button formatting options and shall therefore compose basic html with their bare hands. Yet Mozilla, Mac and Linux users shall not fear, for we shall reveal forthwith the mysteries of Basic Html:

<strong>This text in-between is bold</strong>

<em>This text is in italics</em>

And
<blockquote>This is a quote</blockquote>
Remember to close your opened tags as such: <tag> tagged text and closing </tag> and we promise you will get out of here alive.

For adding links, either use the link URL button on the toolbar or enter your code by hand in the following format:
<a href="http://www.your_link.com">your link text or description here</a>

Movable Type's anti-spambot e-mail address protection is enabled.

You are a guest on private property. Have fun but please be civil and succinct. Blogroaches will be persecuted, not to mention IP banned.

Long third party quotes or articles will also be deleted... so just link to articles you think are germane to your comment, don't quote the whole bloody thing.