A Stroll Across The Astroturf – 15

The fallout from cancelling the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme has continued: now it seems that local authorities committed some 160 millions to the scheme, which is now lost. Moreover, contractors have also put up and lost about another 100 millions. So that’s 260 million quid, well, wasted.

Hang on a minute, isn’t there a non partisan group committed to calling out waste? Well, yes there is, and it’s our old friends at the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance. So they must already be on the case, yes?

Well, actually, make that a no. They haven’t even raised a murmur about it. After all, the TPA (which, as we all know, is not close to the Tory party, despite many of its members also being paid up Tories) has much more important fish to fry.

Such as its latest “report”, complete with “research”, compiled jointly with its offshoot called the “Drivers’ Alliance”, which has lots of “figures” about speed cameras. As with the “report” about parking fines, it fails to mention the awkward question of cost, which makes it appear that all those speeding fines collect themselves.

And it comes to a staggeringly wrong conclusion, that the appearance of speed cameras has stopped the decline in the number of road accidents and therefore casualties. The TPA contends that speed cameras have caused more casualties on the roads.

The laughably slanted “research” makes one central – and, to no surprise, unstated – assumption in reaching this conclusion, and that is that all speed cameras appeared at the same time. As they didn’t, the “research”, including a spurious but very serious looking regression analysis, is effectively worthless.

No consideration is given to how cars were made safer over time (and when the greatest advances in this field were made), nor is there any consideration of other road traffic (the “research” uses passenger kilometres, and therefore does not consider the effect of all those lorries). Nor is any consideration given to the economic situation over time.

If one didn’t know better, the thought might occur that the “research” has been tailored to make a good fit with the required conclusion. Unfortunately, though, the cheaper end of the Fourth Estate uses the TPA’s “research” to provide cheap and easy space fillers, rather than indulging in such things as Proper Journalism.

Reckless By Name ....

Last week in London, the weather was warm well into the night. And the House of Commons sat until past midnight last Tuesday, as the Finance Bill was debated. Many MPs found themselves with time to kill as they waited for crucial votes, and, it seems, gravitated to the Commons terrace. Here, as the comedy legend otherwise known as Gerald Wiley might have observed, several of them became Elephant’s Trunk And Mozart.

So far, so routine: Honourable Members getting themselves into what Private Eye might have called an overtired state is hardly a new thing. But some of the behaviour then spilled back into the chamber as voting time approached – except for one MP, Tory new boy Mark Reckless, who has represented Rochester for just two months. Sad to say, he was in such an advanced state of alcoholic derangement that he was unable to even stand up, let alone return to cast his vote.

Although this evening of indulgence gained cross-party support, most of those getting themselves comprehensively totalled were Tories – deputy chief whip John Randall, member for Uxbridge, and Sheryll Murray, who represents South East Cornwall, prominent among them – so it might be thought that the right leaning side of the Fourth Estate would not be so vocal on the issue.

And that thought would be wrong: the Beeb mentioned Reckless’ indiscretion, while the Guardian, Independent and Mirror had not, when I last looked, carried the story at all. The noise is all coming from papers that would normally cheer for the Tories – or at least put the boot in to Labour. The Maily Telegraph goes into some detail, but for sheer righteous indignation you have to turn to the Daily Mail, where the disciples of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre have gone into why-oh-why overdrive.

The Mail article tells “One cabinet minister was said to be slurring his speech ... some MPs barely knew where they were, let alone what they were voting for ... several people were legless”. And, of course, we are reminded that all this is subsidised by the taxpayer, so we’re meant to get really annoyed about it.

Meanwhile, Mark Reckless has declared that he won’t be in future: “It was a mistake I will not be repeating”.

Spoilsport.

Crumbling Edge Of Quality – 1

Many in the hotel and catering industry – and any other industry that depends to a greater or lesser extent on tourism – would dearly love more of us Brits to take our holidays in the UK. And those on the Railway would no doubt fancy a slice of the action as well. Unfortunately for the latter category, their act needs some work before it will be even a little appealing to the discerning punter, as I discovered yesterday in North Wales.

An eminently strollable prom prom prom

Consider the town of Llandudno, a straightforward journey from Merseyside, Manchester or the West Midlands. Lots of holiday accommodation, attractions on the doorstep (including Conwy Castle just up the road), and a nicely preserved promenade all help to bring in the visitors. Pity about the railway station.

It was former BR head man Peter Parker who coined the term “crumbling edge of quality”. Had he been alive today, he would have had no trouble in pointing to Llandudno’s bare and unappealing terminus as a prime example of what he meant.

Not much of a roof

This is the sight greeting those arriving by rail. Note that the wall holding up the roof at left appears to have been partially demolished. And that roof is all you get: there is no shelter at all on the platforms. But at least the clock works.

There is some seating out of shot to the right, but the waiting room is closed after early afternoon – yes, that’s when the day trippers arrive back at the station for their trains home – and the only human presence is a taxi office.

Not much of a welcome

Adding to the impression of decay is the west side of the station, where there are two now abandoned platforms, together with an assortment of apparently randomly discarded junk.

Fortunately, there is a pub opposite the station, so at least passengers can have a drink and keep dry when, as happened yesterday, the clouds came and brought a few spots of rain.

I’m aware that the industry is going to be squeezed by spending cuts in the next few years, but this station is a disgrace, especially in such a well kept town.

Muslim Scare Stories – Here And There

You don’t have to look far among the outpourings of the Fourth Estate to pick up on the constant barrage of anti-Muslim drivel. The red tops of the Murdoch press, and the domain of the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre, are straightforwardly venal and unpleasant, while the Desmond titles are off the scale in their frothing, proto-BNP bigotry.

So how about the USA? Sad to say, frightening the masses using the spectre of Islam is all the rage there too, but with the inevitable twist: leading the charge is not the press, but our old friends at Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse). Nothing, but nothing, is off limits to Fox: the revelation that space agency NASA includes “reaching out to the Muslim world” among its outreach goals sent them almost into meltdown.

Also being given rather a lot of coverage at Fox is any controversy over the siting and building of mosques, rather like, well, the cheaper end of the press in the UK. Fortunately, this behaviour has also come to the attention of Daily Show host Jon Stewart, who gave Fox both barrels on Wednesday evening.

That edition was shown in the UK on More4 yesterday at 2030, but in case you missed it, the show, with Fox “star” Steve Doocy verging on self parody, is available on 4OD (right HERE). There are adverts, but you won’t have long to wait: Stewart tackled this one in the first half of the prog.

It Is A Warm One

Back in early May, I suggested that this Summer could be a warm one. And so it came to pass: 31 Celsius in London today, 30 tomorrow, and uncomfortably warm nights as well. Heck, it’s even forecast 25 for Crewe, and it feels at least that, even with cloud cover.

Going further south and east, many European resorts are similarly hot, but with even warmer nights (typical for the Greek islands is a minimum of 24 Celsius). It could well get warmer still. So how could I make that prediction with any level of confidence?

Ah well. One thing it’s not based on is any idea that we must be due a warm one, having had an average one last year and two stinkers before that. Here’s a clue: think of what happened across Europe after that Icelandic volcano kicked off.

And I’ll revisit the subject, with the answer to that one, later.

A Stroll Across The Astroturf – 14

So farewell then, Mark Wallace: another of those clever people who talk loudly in restaurants has left the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance for pastures new, which of course will not be any kind of sinecure, public service appointment, or one of those non-jobs he has spent his time at the TPA banging on about.

Wallace, who has also contributed many blog posts to ConservativeHome – not that there is any connection between the TPA and the Tory Party, you understand – has overseen some staggeringly inept “research” during his tenure, including the infamous “report” that accused the previous Government of paying firms to lobby it.

Unfortunately for Wallace and the TPA, Mick Fealty at the Slugger O’Toole blog asked the very obvious question: just because the Government were making payments to companies who also did lobbying (among other things), was it not possible that the payment was for something else? Were the TPA making an assumption that they could not prove?

Wallace could not satisfactorily rebut Fealty’s question, and as a result the keeper of Slugger O’Toole had to tell the TPA’s finest that “it stands to reason you have no idea precisely what any of the companies in your research were actually paid for ... you were working on the basis of what their core competences were. In short, the research cannot be worth the paper it’s not printed on”.

This was, however, no problem to Iain Dale, a compliant and reliable conduit for Tory propaganda, who happily reproduced the work of “those excellent people at the TPA” as fact.

There’s lack of bias, objectivity and even handedness for you.

[Mick Fealty, as he points out, is not delving into details of the TPA’s accounts or backers, but simply treating their “research” on its merits. Or lack thereof]

A Tortuous Compromise

Another Government, another enquiry: this one into the allegations that the UK’s security services knew about the “extraordinary rendition” of terror suspects, and in some cases colluded in their torture.

So will this be a public enquiry? Well, not really: some of its sessions will be public, but how many, we don’t get to know. It will be led by a judge, and report by the end of the year, which means that anything not discovered in a period of less than six months doesn’t get in.

And what of those security services? Are they being made accountable by the process, or is the Government moving to appease them by limiting the enquiry’s timescale and scope? Liberty’s Shami Chakrabati has put it rather well: “this announcement leaves room for fears that government is bending towards the security establishment”.

Moreover, there will be no disclosure of evidence, and nobody will get guilty as a result. But there will be opportunities to dump the whole business on Tone. Business as usual in the world of party politics.

No change there, then.

It Was Five Years Ago Today

Where were you on the morning of July 7 2005? Confession time: I was sitting at my desk in an anonymous looking office block in Bristol, far away from the unfolding events in London.

The news filtered through slowly: at first we were told that there had been some kind of “power surge” on the city’s Underground system. But, as confirmation came through that there were fatalities, it became obvious that there had been a terrorist attack.

And the most devastating of the attacks occurred on a deep level Tube line: the blast from the explosion was constrained by the small diameter of the tunnel, and so projected along the train, causing the most substantial loss of life of all the attacks.

Today, there will not be any major commemoration of those attacks, which might not be universally popular, but I’d go with the low key approach. More, I’d be more impressed to know that the various intelligence agencies are working together more effectively and keeping their guard up.

The authorities in Madrid came clean after the bombings there, and admitted that they had been caught off guard. They soon rounded up the remaining culprits. Let’s have some of that in the UK.

Jumping The Gun – Revisited

Last year, I noted that there had been some less than sensitive treatment of South African athlete Caster Semenya following her routine trouncing of the opposition and persistent rumours about her sexuality. Put directly, it was out of order.

Now, following an eleven month ban from competition, the good news is that Semenya has been cleared to compete again. There have been yet more rumours, suggesting that she is no longer quite as fleet of foot as before, and linking this to an alleged course of hormone treatment.

But the lack of speed may just be down to her not being allowed to compete. In any case, as the IAAF investigation has declared the medial details of its case confidential, the press would be best advised not to speculate. But, as we know of the Fourth Estate, speculate is probably what they will do.

Meanwhile, the competition should concentrate on one thing: keeping up.

Parish Notice – Votes Required

It’s that time of the year again.

Not that there is any vanity about Zelo Street (stuff that), but if so many other blogs are taking part, then there’s no reason to play Billy No Mates and stand on the sidelines.

So what’s the event? It’s the Total Politics 2010 Blog Poll, sponsored, in even handed style jointly by LabourList, LibDemVoice, and TP head man Iain Dale (he’s a Tory ... you didn’t know that? Go and stand at the back).

Here’s the rules (taken from Iain’s blog post):

1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite).
2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted.
3. You MUST include at least FIVE blogs in your list, but please list ten if you can. If you include fewer than five, your vote will not count.
4. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com
5. Only vote once.
6. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents or based on UK politics are eligible. No blog will be excluded from voting.
7. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name
8. All votes must be received by midnight on 31 July 2010. Any votes received after that date will not count.

Note that new for this year is that you only have to vote for five blogs – last year it was ten or nothing, which may have put some potential voters off.

Of course, I’d love folks to vote for Zelo Street, but as Our Graham used to say, the decision is yours.

Happy voting!

The Republican Wrong – Beck To School

The silly season must have arrived: in the news today is the opening of a new University, dedicated to home study. And this is no ordinary learning experience, for here is Beck University, the personal learning vehicle of Glenn Beck, increasingly erratic “star” of Fox News Channel (fair and balanced my arse).

Beck’s website, which describes the Glenn Beck Program (that’s his radio show) as “The Fusion Of Entertainment And Enlightenment”, clearly benefits from a more than average amount of brass neck, and so it is no surprise to see his “University” sold as a “unique academic experience”.

As might be expected, it’s not taken long for organised ridicule to start, and Mother Jones’ Adam Weinstein has been as quick off the mark as any. My favourites from his suggested course list are “Fundamentals of Spelling and Grammar (Cancelled)”, “Great Military Heroes: John Wayne”, “Paranoia as Therapeutic Alternative”, “Studies in Moral Courage: Joe McCarthy”, and “Gym Crow”.

Perhaps Fox and Beck fan Donal Blaney might be interested in recommending it to the next group of takers for the training offered by the Young Britons’ Foundation.

If there is one.

Lies, Damn Lies, And EU Directives – 5

Comfort foods. We may disagree on what qualifies, but most will be hard put to argue against a list including chocolate and hazelnut paste Nutella, which has been spread generously over breakfast bread for more than four and a half decades. Nutella is made by Ferrero, a large but very private Italian firm which also produces the maybe over hyped Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and the Kinder range.

But the private world of Ferrero came out into the open recently when, so it’s been claimed, that same draft EU legislation that has spawned the spurious “EU Bans A Dozen Eggs” has threatened the very existence of Nutella. Given than, as I’ve pointed out, the screaming headlines and the reality were two different things where the “dozen eggs” story was concerned, the first thought that occurs is one of scepticism.

And this may be the right approach: the draft legislation talks of displaying such things as fat, salt and sugar content clearly on food packaging – so, in the case of Nutella, that would mean on the front of the jar. Would the revelation of how much sugar goes into the product be enough to kill it off, as some have suggested? Doubtful. What may be spooking the secretive folks at Ferrero is that some of their closely guarded recipe may be revealed to their competitors.

But then, any other firm – and this particular corner of the comfort food market does have other players – could just buy a jar of Nutella and figure out the contents for itself. Which leaves the thought that Ferrero may be doing no more than lobbying against what will be no more than a minor inconvenience, the kind of change to labelling that comes round every few years in any case.

Which appears to be the case: Ferrero have now acknowledged that there never was any threat to Nutella. But the case does demonstrate that it’s not just in the UK that the food industry will lobby, using suitably apocalyptic language, against an EU that is all too easy to demonise.

An Impending Report

Word has arrived from the independent review into the governance of the Press Complaints Commission (PCC) that their review is to be published on Wednesday.

The report, once published, will be available on the Governance Review’s website. There will no doubt be much to comment on.

Anyone who regularly looks in on Zelo Street will know that I have a particularly low opinion of the PCC as currently constituted, given its apparently incestuous relationship with the Fourth Estate: the Editors’ Code Committee is chaired by no less than the legendarily foul mouthed Paul Dacre, editor of the Daily Mail and managing editor of the Mail On Sunday.

Otherwise, I will not be rushing to pre-judge the report, but am not hoping for too much from it. The idea of a properly independent PCC, with the power of enforcement, may still be as far away as ever.

That’ll Cost You, Sport – 16

The iron determination of the Murdoch clan to make the punters pay to view online content has now borne fruit: the Times and Sunday Times have disappeared behind a paywall. I’ve wondered in the past whether Rupe and his troops can make the numbers add up, and although they’ve managed this task with Sky and the various sports rights that have been acquired, things might be different with newspapers.

Previously, I noted that pioneer of online journalism Arianna Huffington, whose Huffington Post aggregates content, but also produces original journalism and hosts several blogs, wasn’t convinced by Rupe’s arguments. Her speech, delivered last December, and titled “Journalism 2009: Desperate Metaphors, Desperate Revenue Models, And The Desperate Need For Better Journalism”, lays out clearly why she believes that the Murdochs don’t get it.

And in today’s Guardian, Clay Shirky, an internet guru who hates being called an internet guru, tells why he, too, doesn’t think that putting up a paywall will work. His verdict is as straightforward as it is damning: “I think it will underperform. On a purely financial calculation, I don't think the numbers add up”. Moreover, he points out that what Murdoch is doing with the Times and ST is locking the wider public out of his papers’ conversations – deliberately throttling their reach.

The reach of the Times and ST was already in sharp decline following the imposition of registration (part of the move towards a paywall). Adding the further imposition of payment when there are so many more news sources out there will merely compound that decline.

The Bald Truth

In Saturday’s Guardian, columnist Simon Hoggart tells of when, recently, he was standing behind Young Dave at a party. Hoggart confirms that “he really is going bald. From the back, and spreading out”.

This is very bad news for a man looking to spend ten years occupying 10 Downing Street, and for one simple reason: you can’t get elected if you’re bald.

Since World War 2, the only time a bald man got to be Prime Minister was when the alternative was another bald man. Hence Clem Attlee beating Winshton twice, then Winshton winning the third time.

But, as soon as the electorate had the choice of a party leader with a full head of hair, there was no going back. Anthony Eden beat Attlee, and from that point the bald man always lost.

Alec Douglas Home lost to Wislon, Michael Foot and Neil Kinnock lost to Margaret Thatcher, Kinnock then lost to “Shagger” Major, and both William ‘Ague and Michael “I’m not going to hurt you” Howard lost to Tone. It’s possible that John Smith would have bucked the trend, but his chance never came.

So Cameron and the Tories have a potential problem. How fast is Young Dave’s own very personal recession progressing? If it’s going to become obvious within the next two or three years, that could spell the end of his re-election chances.

Slasher Gives It To Us Straight

The man in line to be Chief Secretary to the Treasury, until Young Dave and his jolly good chaps failed to turn the talk of a “Tory tsunami” into all out victory, was Philip Hammond, now at Transport and welcomed with the award of the nickname “Slasher”.

Hammond, unlike Gideon George Oliver Osborne, heir to the Seventeenth Baronet, has actually had a real job out there in the real world. His wealth is earned, not inherited, so he has a head start in the credibility stakes. When he says that there need to be spending cuts, we might not like the idea, but have to concede that the bloke making the statement knows one end of a set of figures from the other.

And on today’s Andy Marr Show, Hammond was living up to his nickname. There would have to be cuts in departmental budgets of 25%, or in some cases maybe more. That means a lot of job losses, but at least this has already been conceded. What has not found universal acceptance is the idea that all of these losses, and more, will somehow be compensated for by a substantial increase in the private sector.

Moreover, what Hammond wasn’t pressed on was the effect of such large cuts on that same private sector. If such things as road building projects get the axe, this impacts directly on the civil engineering sector. Less employment there means all the smaller firms that depend on the civils also suffer. And, as I’ve noted previously, cutting “back office” functions also results in job losses. This then impacts (for instance) on suppliers of IT services. Bad news for the M4 Corridor.

If the private sector is getting hit by the fallout from the cuts, just how is it going to put on all those extra jobs to take up the slack when the public sector shrinks? I suspect that Hammond is going to find that one harder to square. But at least he’s giving his news to us straight.

Iain, Meet Denis

A week has now passed since the Murdoch and Rothermere press splashed its erroneous “EU Bans A Dozen Eggs” stories, sparking some vigorous and often healthy debate, and unfortunately spawning a number of instances of knee jerk Europhobia.

And top of the Europhobic blog pops on day one was Iain Dale, a compliant and reliable conduit for Tory propaganda. Moreover, a week on, he is still at it, suggesting that he has forgotten Healey’s Dictum, named after the former Labour deputy leader, which states, more or less, that if you find yourself in a hole, you are best advised to stop digging.

The timeline for the actual story, which Zelo Street has laid out in an exclusive yesterday, many will know by now. That for Dale and his digging may be less clear, so I’ll shed a little light on it in this post.

On June 27, the day that the Mail On Sunday, Screws, and Sunday Times ran the story, the Dale blog included a post with the untrue title “EU Abolishes A Dozen Eggs”. The post contained the equally untrue assertion that “No longer will we be able to buy eggs by the dozen”. At the very end of the comments – few readers would have seen it – was someone asking “Now that you've been proved wrong where is the correction and humbling apology?”

Others then found adversely upon the press, and Dale came in for a routine amount of ridicule. But generally, the whole thing died down - until yesterday’s Zelo Street exclusive, which identified the Grocer magazine as the source of the story, and revealed the characteristically poor behaviour of the Fourth Estate over the matter.

Only then did Iain Dale wake up to the existence of the Grocer and editor Adam Leyland, although I’m sure he would not go so far as to concede that he had read it first in this blog. Moreover, he came over all righteous and declared “I have been plagued by Europhile idiots calling on me to apologise”. But, apart from a mere suggestion from one of his own commenters, there has been no movement to demand he apologises.

You couldn’t make it up? But it looks very much as if Iain Dale has made it up. Why make the hole bigger, Iain, when you could just stop digging? And, while you’re at it, try doing a bit of proper investigation for a change (as I did), rather than just assuming that your comments are somehow special.

You’re not a sleb, and you never will be.

The Republican Wrong – Wrong All Round

The USA has had armed forces deployed in Afghanistan for some years now: the war as prosecuted under “Dubya” Bush continues to be fought under Barack Obama, despite the recent excess of candour from Stanley McChrystal.

And, it was thought, that the war should continue to be fought was one of those rare things, in that it enjoyed the support of both Democrats and Republicans. That was until the embattled chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) Michael Steele stood up to speak at a party fundraiser in Connecticut last Thursday.

Steele, apparently with a straight face, told his audience that the Afghan conflict was “A war of Obama’s choosing”. Moreover, it was “not something the United States has actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in”. Wow. Where has this man been for the past decade?

Even the most ardent of GOP supporters, such as “Dick” Cheney’s daughter Liz, have called for Steele to step down from his post. This example of what is now known as “mis-speaking” tells you why.

EXCLUSIVE: Lies, Damn Lies, And EU Directives – 4

As the Fourth Estate moves on to the next EU scare story, I can now reveal that the Grocer magazine was indeed the source of “EU Bans A Dozen Eggs”. I am not at liberty to say how the information found its way on to Zelo Street, but can say that this has been confirmed by Grocer editor Adam Leyland.

The timeline is straightforward: the Grocer article was first published on June 25 – not June 26, which is the date of the online copy – and it is believed that journalists at the Rothermere press are among the magazine’s subscriber base. No act of tipping off was required.

So far, so straightforward, but what I have also discovered is that none of the papers that ran with the story on June 27 – the Mail On Sunday, News Of The World and Sunday Times – bothered to check any details with the Grocer before publishing. Yes, that includes a Murdoch title that has just retreated behind a paywall, the justification being that we should have to pay for the quality of journalism being provided.

Except, in this case, all that Rupe’s clearly not very upmarket troops did was to lift an article from another publication and paste it into the Sunday Times. I doubt that they even acknowledged the source (the MoS didn’t). So where is the supposed quality? On the face of it, this is just another piece of lazy hackery dressed up as respectable journalism.

Moreover, I can reveal that only one paper, the Maily Telegraph, saw fit to check the story with the Grocer before committing to print. This may explain why they ran the story a day after the Murdoch and Rothermere titles, and also why their article referred, as I noted at the time, to pricing by the dozen (or whatever number).

Also, what is coming clear is that terms such as “A Dozen” will not be banned by any upcoming EU directive. You might have difficulty finding that information in any of the papers who were first with this particular Euro-scare: here is a superb example of concern within an industry (retail, in this case) being hyped merely to sell a few more copies, of the assembled hackery relegating mere facts in favour of a few screaming headlines.

The Fourth Estate may change its rules. But it is utterly predictable in its behaviour. And its standards never improve.

A Stroll Across The Astroturf – 13

Another month, another “report”, full of “research” from the so-called Taxpayers’ Alliance (representing less than one tenth of one per cent of all taxpayers, and still no accounts published). It is at least good to see that Matthew “Gromit” Elliott and his pals in their generously donated office suite are keeping busy, even if the stench of rank hypocrisy hangs over the whole enterprise.

Because today’s “report” is another of the TPA’s “rich lists”. This time, it’s a Trade Union one, which should be no surprise, given that many of those thought to be sponsoring the TPA are union hating industrialists who give the impression they would rather not be encumbered by such trifles as workers having rights.

So what is in the latest TPA “report”? Well, we find out that Bob Crow, head man at the RMT, is on more than 100k a year. I am not surprised. “Scare” Crow is head man at a large and still powerful union, he tends to get his members a good deal out of their various employers, and so he gets the rate for the job. End of story.

But the TPA clearly isn’t satisfied. It wants to accuse the unions of hypocrisy and suggest that they are living a life of “well paid luxury”. How would they know this? Given that none of the union men and women in the TPA “report” would be about to invite the TPA into their homes, this is mere conjecture – unless those same TPA folks were getting the same kind of money.

But then, the TPA has still not published up to date accounts, and neither has it told how much its variously comfortable staffers are trousering. We can guess the kind of middling TPA package, though, from the recent journey through the Government revolving door of Susie Squire, now on a pay grade in the 60 to 70k range.

Given that La Squire was “only” a middling staffer at the TPA, it’s quite plausible that Matthew “Gromit” Elliott is on a whole lot more, which might just get him over 100k and entry into the world of “well paid luxury”. Not bad for someone whose talents don’t appear to reach much further than being yet another of these clever people who talk loudly in restaurants.

So when, TPA people, are you going to come clean and publish those accounts? And, while you’re at it, how about another list, one of salaries for all your staffers, consultants, and other hangers on?