Events from the past week or so have been distressing and have truly tested the competence of the government at Westminster. Alistair Darling, Jackie Smith and Gordon Brown are all looking a bit worse for wear. The floods, foot and mouth disease and the terror attacks during the summer are obvious examples of events that could not have been foreseen. People generally seemed confident that the government’s response was appropriate and proportionate.
However….
Economy
The more recent events at Northern Rock has raised general public anxiety as the implications for the whole economy becomes apparent. The government has responded but it is reasonable to consider “how much did the government’s own actions or lack of actions contribute to this problem?”
Data Protection
HM Revenue & Customs has no excuse for losing such a large amount of personal data but has apportioning blame to a junior official so quickly made things worse? Shouldn’t senior managers have undertaken a full investigation first before blaming someone and shouldn’t ministers have already established that all government departments are fully compliant with data protection and every other legislation? Is it not reasonable to expect all government departments and quangos to be models of excellence?
Defence
Criticism from former military chiefs about Mr Brown’s commitment to defense also causes concern. I am sure that I must be misunderstanding something. Are the former military chiefs not guilty of “insulting” troops in the same way that they are criticising Mr Brown? It seems to me that there will always be differing views on what action should be taken and how resources will be used. Is it not reasonable to expect military leaders to express their views within the team and then, whether they agree with the decisions or not, accept the decisions and get on with job to the best of their ability. Shouldn’t our armed forces expect senior chiefs to demonstrate unity and confidence instead of whining like school boys?
Donations
Today’s revelations about party finance does nothing to inspire confidence. Gordon Brown is right to rectify the situation but why is this necessary? The government generally states that lessons will be learned but it seems that similar mistakes are made over and over again. Shouldn’t the government sort out basic competences and responsibilities and ensure that the process of accountability is crystal clear from local government right up to the highest level?
[...] Check it out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today.Here’s a quick excerptThe more recent events at Northern Rock has raised general public anxiety as the implications for the whole economy becomes apparent. The government has responded but it is reasonable to consider “how much did the government’s own … [...]