Rachel Reeves will launch a war on waste to stabilise public finances amid growing disquiet from her MPs over her handling of the economy.
In an attempt to get back on the front foot after a week of turmoil in financial markets, the Chancellor will lead a major new drive to tackle “waste and inefficiency” across the public sector which will leave “no stone unturned”.
T’is snigger, so it is.
So, how much do stone turners get paid?
Methinks many a stone will be left unturned.
Well good for her – that’s never been tried before and should be an easy win. We’re saved – Hurrah!
In a separate vein, the photos show that she took her plum-coloured trouser suit to China: it’s time it went to the dry cleaners (or the bin if Lord A could stump up for some new stuff).
This comedy would be much funnier if we weren’t paying for it.
So, which 25% of the workforce are going to be fired?
I liked Musk’s suggestion for thinning out the federal civil service. Everyone whose social security number ends with an odd digit gets the bullet.
My own suggestion for Britain is that everyone whose national insurance number includes an odd digit gets the bullet. We’d be left with just the lucky ones, which seems ideal.
“So, which 25% of the workforce are going to be fired?”
The wrong one.
She’s going to sack 70-80% of all civil servants, discontinue 90% of the subsidies to NGO’s and other “Just Causes” , shut down all Grievance Studies, Basket Weaving, and Crayon Eating departments in the “Universities” , etc…?
Tall order… Colour me sceptical if she’d even get as far as voicing the thought…
If UK.gov did try and go down the same road as the US, we’d end up with an actual Department of Government Efficiency (and associated hanger-on Agencies and QUANGOs). Would have a staff of 15,000 and a budget in the billions before the year was out…
They have shown with the winter fuel payments they are happy to go after pensioners, could see them accelerating the extension of pension age to 70.
The rumbling of going after disability/sickness benefits is likely going to happen if they can use it to grow the civil service, at which point it will cost more to administer than they save
Rachel from Accounts could start by stopping foreign aid to Pakistan unless they stop preventing us sending back rapists, illegal immigrants, and other criminals, then go on to other countries with similar outlooks.
There’s a whole swathe of recently-arrived low-income immigrants (the Boriswave) who will soon have been here for five years, thus qualifying them for citizenship. They should be deported ASAP before they become a long-term burden on the state. It might sound trivial, but the numbers quickly add up.
More details: https://x.com/sashworthhayes/status/1877283697725997388