If We Haven't Needed It For 10 Years, Why Do We Need It Now?

Ministers will bring in a new “school of government” for senior civil servants to train them in AI and other skills – more than a decade after David Cameron axed the previous college for Whitehall.

Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the prime minister, will announce the new body in a speech on Tuesday setting out the government’s plans to “rewire” the civil service for modern times. Cameron’s decision to close the previous national school of government at Sunningdale has been widely considered a mistake, with growing fees for external providers.

Considered a 'mistake' by whom? Anyone we should take any notice of?  

Ahead of the speech, Jones said he was determined to “work with the civil service to change the system, promote innovation and build in-house state capacity to get things done”.

Aimed at improving the training of senior civil servants, its programme will include knowledge on economics, finance, policy, leadership and management, commercial, AI, data and digital, programme and project management and delivery.

Maybe it's just me, but shouldn't they have all that already, in order to get to be senior civil servants in the first place? 

His speech, due on Tuesday with a promise to “move fast, fix things”, will build on existing plans to halve government spending on external consultants and reduce departmental administration costs by 16% over the next five years, delivering savings of £2bn a year by 2030.

Aha! That's who consider this a mistake then - the consultants who were suckling at the teat of government! 

In an interview with the Times last week, Jones also suggested he would increase performance-related pay and more civil servants would be “shown the door” if not meeting standards.

Oh, when have I heard that one before?  

The War On Cars...

First, those robbing bastards at TfL announce plans to hike the congestion charge by 20%. 

Then, before it's even built, a pressure group is demanding sky-high fees to use the new crossing: 

 

Cars pay £2.50 to travel via Dartford, but analysis from the campaign group Transport Action Network (TAN) suggests that tolls would need to be about £8.10, and £14 for a lorry, to cover financing and operating costs.

 Because that’s a well researched estimate of costs, or because it suits their agenda to demand the price is raised? 

National Highways, which is leading the work on the crossing, said the figures were untrue and that it expected the tolls to remain in line with present levels, adjusted for inflation.

Who to believe amongst two sets of known liars? 

Natalie Chapman, the head of public affairs at Logistics UK, said the approval of the crossing was “excellent news” given the delays to traffic at Dartford. She added: “Industry recognises that road charges are necessary to fund new infrastructure, but tolls need to be reasonable, as industry pays disproportionately more towards construction costs than private road users.” Many vehicles have, however, been charged substantially more to cross the Thames since similar mirror tolls were enforced last month on the new Silvertown tunnel, a mile-long crossing in east London, and the nearby Blackwall tunnel, which was previously free to use. Transport for London said the tolls, of £4 for a car, were needed on both tunnels to deter traffic from taking an alternative cheaper route.

I feel you didn't need those last six words; they merely mask the true agenda. 

Normal Human Beings Don't Require Any Support At All...

A teenage mother who left her 20-month-old baby alone to die while she partied only received two hours of support a week from a charity, a hearing was told.

...to not do this.

YMCA DownsLink Group said they acted primarily as an accommodation provider for Verphy Kudi in the build up to her daughter’s death.

Yes, it's this case again. And not content with soaking up taxpayer resources without a live baby and working mother at the end of it, the State is about to splash out yet more of our money on a no doubt pointless exercise: 

Kudi pleaded guilty to manslaughter in March and was sentenced to nine years imprisonment on August 6. A full inquest into baby Asiah's death is due to be held at the end of January 2022.

Assistant coroner Karen Henderson said she expects the inquest to last between three and five days.

Gotta keep those legal aid shysters in BMWs! 

Peter Wilcock QC, defending Kudi, said it is “truly a tragic and devastating case”.

“She herself, the defendant, is both very young and we would submit very vulnerable,” he said.

I think the genuinely vulnerable person in this ghastly case is dead, Peter... 

Sentencing Kudi last month, Judge Christine Laing QC said:“It goes without saying that this is a particularly tragic case and it no doubt raises strong emotions in all who hear of it, but everyone should bear in mind that the charge I sentence you for is one of manslaughter, it being accepted that you did not intend to cause Asiah death nor to cause her really serious harm.”

What did this waste of skin think would happen if you left a baby alone for that long?  Another thing normal human beings know without need of State 'support'.

Is The MSM Going To Interview Failed Bank Robbers Too..?

"Well, see, me and 'Fingers' McGee just didn't use the right amount of jelly on the wall of the adjoining shop cellar, but I'm going to make sure we get a proper peterman next time..."

A migrant mother has told how she and her two young children nearly drowned trying to reach the UK by boat – but she is still planning another perilous crossing.

Of course she is. Because she's an 'asylum seeker', you see. 

Wait, I thought she was a 'migrant'..? Can't you professional journalists get your labels straight?

Joan, 32, revealed that she and her son Zanyar, ten, and daughter Sidra, nine, were among 33 would-be asylum-seekers who nearly died last week when their ramshackle vessel capsized at night after seven hours at sea.

After they were rescued, French authorities put them up in a hotel for three days, before returning them to a squalid camp in Dunkirk where they are planning their next attempt.

And why? Why does this woman want to flee the safety of France? 

For her part, Joan – widowed when her husband was shot dead in 2014 while serving with Kurdish forces against Islamic State fighters – said she had spent around a year travelling to France and that she had no choice but to attempt to reach Britain again.

While she previously led a comfortable life, she claimed her father-in-law took away the family home and car following her husband's death. Joan said she worked for two years as a cleaner and, with the help of her brother, who sent money to her from the UK, she managed to buy her own house – only for her father-in-law to return and take away her son, too. When she managed to get Zanyar back, she decided that she had no option but to leave.

She managed to get as far as Serbia, where people smugglers arranged for her to travel in a van to Italy. She and her children then went to France after being hidden in a container and arrived in an unknown city where she was given a train ticket to Dunkirk.

She's not an asylum-seeker at all. She was safe in Serbia. She was safe in Italy. She's safe in France.

But she wants to come here because she has family here. Well, then, apply to settle here like everyone else! Or is it because you know you don't qualify?

Calling this woman an 'asylum seeker' is like calling a burglar a 'visitor'. 

The New #MeToo....

This time it's 'driving while black', and it's the Lawrence woman again.

The peer had been heading home through the streets of south London not long after her son was stabbed to death and realised she was being followed by a police car.

“They continued to follow me and then they flashed me to stop,” she said. “They said I needed to get out of my car. I said: ‘I’m a woman, it’s late at night and I don’t want to get out of my car.’”

Why not? There's two police officers there, you're perfectly safe. Just get out of the bloody car like everyone else!

There were two officers, a man and woman. “Eventually I got out and they were telling me that they know the pub is not too long closed and that I was driving erratically.

“If anyone knows the black community, especially a woman, we are not coming out of pubs and this was after twelve [midnight]. So these are the issues that people in the black community are suffering from.”

I thought it was wrong to make assumptions about the behaviour of people based on their race? But you think they should have done so?

Gosh. It's almost like you want to have your cake and eat it, isn't it?

I Suppose A Plane Ticket Back To Bulgaria Is Out Of The Question?

Alfiya Musa will be homeless from today after her landlords ordered her to leave her home in Whitmore Way, Basildon.

The 26-year-old gave birth last month three months prematurely as she had to have an emergency C-section.

Now, her son is suffering from poor lungs and she fears he will just get worse with nowhere to stay.

Where is this boon to the British economy from?

Ms Mufa, who is originally from Bulgaria but has lived in Basildon for a year, sill has a job as an agency worker but fears for her son’s welfare.

A job that doesn't pay well enough for her to be here without recourse to the public purse?

She said: “My landlords have been telling me for a while that they did not want a child in the house.

“The house is old and they need to do a lot of work, which involves turning the gas and water off, so a child can’t live there.

“They gave me notice and I was working to find somewhere to go, but I had my son three months early which left me no time to find anywhere.

“I have been to the charities to try and help, but they don’t have capacity.

“When I went to the council, they said I was not eligible for them to re-house me, even though I’m on universal credit.”

Well, thank the Lord for th...

Oh, wait!

A spokesman for the council said: “We have not issued a decision that the housing applicant (Ms. Musa) is ineligible for assistance.

“However, we have been continuing our ongoing enquiries into the matter.

“The applicant has an appointment with our Housing Solutions Team today to discuss her situation further, when we will determine whether we have any ongoing duties towards her.”

Can the answer please be 'No'..?

Well, Why Not? The Taxpayer's Picking Up The Tab, Again...

A rapist who dodged deportation after a mutiny by plane passengers will next month launch another bid to avoid being booted out of Britain.

Yes, it's this thorn in our side again.

Ahmed, who was first told he was liable for deportation in 2010, was released on bail in March last year, but detained again shortly afterwards because he ripped off an electronic tag and tried to flee the country.

I wonder why we didn't just let him? Is it because we know there'd be no checks on him returning under an assumed name?

At that stage, 12 years of criminal trials, prison costs and immigration cases involving Ahmed – who receives legal aid – were estimated to have cost British taxpayers more than £330,000. That figure is set to soar now he has won the right to argue his case for a judicial review hearing.

Once again, the only ones winning are the lawyers...

And Yet She Could Afford The Air Fare...

Non-British patients who do not have a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) are charged for the care they receive in this country because they are not contributing to the UK through tax.

Yes. And...?

But for some, like Nigerian grandmother Grace Umoru, the price of this care can be a huge and unexpected burden.

No doubt. But what's her story?

Mrs Umoru came to Bolton in June to see her son-in-law Jamal Ohiobugie and her granddaughter after being treated by doctors in her home of Edo State for a recurring wound to her leg.

However, once arriving in the UK, Mr Ohiobugie realised that his mother’s injury was much worse than previously thought and she was rushed to the Royal Bolton Hospital for urgent treatment.

Hmmm...

Doctors were able to save the limb and the 59-year-old is now recovering but the family have received a bill for £3,500 which they cannot afford.

However, for Mr Ohiobugie and his family, there is no question of not paying this bill despite their fincanicl (sic) troubles.

No question, haters! This family doesn't live off the generosity of others!

He has now turned to campaigning site GoFundMe in the hope that charitable individuals will donate to help with his mother’s cause.

*rolls eyes*

H/T: BannedCow via Twitter