Friday 17 April 2009

When All You Have Is A Hammer….

So, what’s the first thing you do when you create a Frankenstein’s monster of a government department, stitched together from several other government departments (and destined to perform as well as your last failed experiment in civil service vivisection)?

If you answered ‘Blow nearly £8 million on publicity’, then congratulations! You must work for the government:
The Home Office body has allocated large sums to its promotional budget despite growing concern about its failures to stem illegal immigration into Britain.

While other government departments and private sector companies are cutting jobs in the downturn, the agency is currently advertising for a range of roles in a new communications campaign team paying up to £56,000 a year.
Well, perhaps that’s Damian McBride and Dolly Draper sorted then…
Damian Green, the shadow immigration minister, called for more money to be invested in front-line officers rather than publicity.

"In a crisis you can guarantee that New Labour will put spin before substance," Mr Green said.

"So at a time when our borders are open, and confidence in the immigration system is low, what do they do? They spend millions on advertising, and increase the size of what they call the 'professional communications community'."
But of course! It’s all they know how to do

It’s also the actions of rats ensuring that their fellows will be taken care of, now that they are forced to admit, even to themselves, that the ship is definitely sinking.

9 comments:

Letters From A Tory said...

I have never and will never believe that there aren't HUGE savings to be made in the public sector, and rubbish like this is a good place to start.

Oldrightie said...

LFAT, (ICAO speak for Le Touquet airport, by the way) says it for me!

JuliaM said...

Indeed. But isn't he supposed to be on a break..? ;)

Umbongo said...

Somebody commented on one of the blogs that the French fishermen blockading Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne did more for the UK in two days than the Immigration "Service" has done in two decades. Who could disagree?

Edwin Greenwood said...

Insofar as Government policy on border management and immigration consists entirely of reassuring the electorate that all is under control, rather than actually doing anything, this deployment of resources seems entirely rational to me.

Mark Wadsworth said...

Sod what Damien Green says, as ever it was Sir Andrew Green who made the most sense.

JuliaM said...

"Somebody commented on one of the blogs that the French fishermen blockading Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne did more for the UK in two days than the Immigration "Service" has done in two decades. Who could disagree?"Ah, indeed. Raedwald made the same point too.

"..reassuring the electorate that all is under control, rather than actually doing anything.."This government's MO to a tee...

"...as ever it was Sir Andrew Green who made the most sense."The only time you could ever say that about Greens.. ;)

Mummy x said...

You beat me to it at 'Counting Cats'
http://andtherewasmethinking.wordpress.com/2009/04/17/a-difference-of-opinion/
This is my take on the subject. Well, it's better than blogging about the fact that some arse did pay Max/Fishface 50 big ones for her slaporama
Mummy x

Macheath said...

NuLab in a nutshell; we're all going to Hell in a handcart, but it's got a great new logo painted on the side.