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Austerity: what a moneyspinner. Millions available in the Whitehall goldrush Austerity: what a moneyspinner. Millions available in the Whitehall goldrush
(4 months later)
• Hack, slash, whoosh. George Osborne's trusty sword of austerity scythes through the public sector. There is no plan B. We must cut and squeeze until the job is done, he says. But, as we noted here, the belt hasn't tightened at all vis-a-vis Whitehall's dealings with the private sector big beasts. A whopping £112m for G4S from the Foreign Office since 2009. But it's not just G4S: in the new Klondike there are pickings for others. Capita, that veteran plunderer of the public purse is also doing very nicely. The dogged Barry Sheerman MP, asks the Home Office how much it has thrown Capita's way in the same four years. The answer: more than £250m, not including the total fees paid to Capita for its contributions at the Passport Office. And the future looks bright; last year's spend, £76m, was the highest in four years. Things can only get better, as they say.• Hack, slash, whoosh. George Osborne's trusty sword of austerity scythes through the public sector. There is no plan B. We must cut and squeeze until the job is done, he says. But, as we noted here, the belt hasn't tightened at all vis-a-vis Whitehall's dealings with the private sector big beasts. A whopping £112m for G4S from the Foreign Office since 2009. But it's not just G4S: in the new Klondike there are pickings for others. Capita, that veteran plunderer of the public purse is also doing very nicely. The dogged Barry Sheerman MP, asks the Home Office how much it has thrown Capita's way in the same four years. The answer: more than £250m, not including the total fees paid to Capita for its contributions at the Passport Office. And the future looks bright; last year's spend, £76m, was the highest in four years. Things can only get better, as they say.
• Was anyone unmoved by Nigel Farage's plight as he found himself menaced by critics and therefore unable to take tea with officials in Scotland. Where is the rule of law, was the cry from those who revere the Ukip leader. Was Stuart Agnew, Ukip's MEP for the East of England, one of them? We think not. For Agnew was probably tied up in his own little legal irritation. We told two weeks ago how Agnew – visiting Oxford University for a debate – blithely left his car (number plate EU03OUT) on a double yellow line. Now, the reckoning. He was fortunate in that his car was not towed away, but he did receive a £35 parking ticket, as anyone familiar with parking in Oxford could have told him he would. Will you help me pay it, he asked the event organisers. Er, no, they said; on your own head be it. Each must answer for their crimes.• Was anyone unmoved by Nigel Farage's plight as he found himself menaced by critics and therefore unable to take tea with officials in Scotland. Where is the rule of law, was the cry from those who revere the Ukip leader. Was Stuart Agnew, Ukip's MEP for the East of England, one of them? We think not. For Agnew was probably tied up in his own little legal irritation. We told two weeks ago how Agnew – visiting Oxford University for a debate – blithely left his car (number plate EU03OUT) on a double yellow line. Now, the reckoning. He was fortunate in that his car was not towed away, but he did receive a £35 parking ticket, as anyone familiar with parking in Oxford could have told him he would. Will you help me pay it, he asked the event organisers. Er, no, they said; on your own head be it. Each must answer for their crimes.
• Oxford also looms large among those who bemoan falling standards in the French education system. They see more evidence of malaise in this year's English baccalaureate exam. The question was about Jeffrey Archer's book First Among Equals, a questionable choice in itself, you might think: the extract, a passage about the character Simon Kerslake's career-shaping choice to seek the presidency of the Oxford Union, the world's most famous debating society. That's a big deal – says Jeffrey – "stepping stone on the path to prime minister – Gladstone, Asquith ... Kerslake?" Only, something was quite lost in translation. Thus French students found themselves writing the campaign speech that might propel Simon to the presidency of the Oxford University Student Union. A different body altogether and not quite the route to power Jeffrey envisaged. Irritating. We know how much the truth matters to him.• Oxford also looms large among those who bemoan falling standards in the French education system. They see more evidence of malaise in this year's English baccalaureate exam. The question was about Jeffrey Archer's book First Among Equals, a questionable choice in itself, you might think: the extract, a passage about the character Simon Kerslake's career-shaping choice to seek the presidency of the Oxford Union, the world's most famous debating society. That's a big deal – says Jeffrey – "stepping stone on the path to prime minister – Gladstone, Asquith ... Kerslake?" Only, something was quite lost in translation. Thus French students found themselves writing the campaign speech that might propel Simon to the presidency of the Oxford University Student Union. A different body altogether and not quite the route to power Jeffrey envisaged. Irritating. We know how much the truth matters to him.
• Archer, of course, starred in one of the most dramatic court cases, and courtrooms remain a place of both despair and comedy. Some cases yield both at once. The trial of Jeremy Forrest, the teacher convicted of child abduction after conducting an affair with a 15-year-old pupil, was one of those. He was represented by Roland Jaffa, whose rhetorical flourishes did much to enliven proceedings. Some felt his mannerisms excessive, but he argued zealously. After a break in examination, he shuffled his papers, cleared his throat, and said, "Now, if I could turn your attention to the period when ...", and only paused when the rest of the court began laughing. He was so engrossed that he hadn't noticed the witness hadn't yet returned to court. He was quizzing an empty chair.• Archer, of course, starred in one of the most dramatic court cases, and courtrooms remain a place of both despair and comedy. Some cases yield both at once. The trial of Jeremy Forrest, the teacher convicted of child abduction after conducting an affair with a 15-year-old pupil, was one of those. He was represented by Roland Jaffa, whose rhetorical flourishes did much to enliven proceedings. Some felt his mannerisms excessive, but he argued zealously. After a break in examination, he shuffled his papers, cleared his throat, and said, "Now, if I could turn your attention to the period when ...", and only paused when the rest of the court began laughing. He was so engrossed that he hadn't noticed the witness hadn't yet returned to court. He was quizzing an empty chair.
• We end as we began with George Osborne, and a question to trouble psychologists for some time to come. Why, in his struggle to put a name to the face of the chancellor, did President Obama confuse George for the singer Jeffrey Osborne? We know that in his youth, George was a funky guy with funky friends, but otherwise there don't seem many points of similarity. It's deep, and here we are guessing, but as an aficionado of Jeffrey, and definitely not of George, Obama could well have had in mind the soul singer's breakthrough hit with the tortured refrain, "I really don't need no light to see thru yoooo." If that tune popped into his head as George approached, who can blame him?twitter: hugh_muir• We end as we began with George Osborne, and a question to trouble psychologists for some time to come. Why, in his struggle to put a name to the face of the chancellor, did President Obama confuse George for the singer Jeffrey Osborne? We know that in his youth, George was a funky guy with funky friends, but otherwise there don't seem many points of similarity. It's deep, and here we are guessing, but as an aficionado of Jeffrey, and definitely not of George, Obama could well have had in mind the soul singer's breakthrough hit with the tortured refrain, "I really don't need no light to see thru yoooo." If that tune popped into his head as George approached, who can blame him?twitter: hugh_muir
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