I did a quick search on what I thought to be key words in the OBR report yesterday.
The results were:
- Austerity - none
- Fiscal - 226
- Fiscal rule - 5
- Climate - 4 (two referring to the climate levy)
- Poverty - none
- Inequality - none
- Disability - 36
- Disability benefits - 21
- Work - 121
- Green - 32, of which 24 refer to a Green Paper
- Interest - 145
- Growth - 277
- Chancellor - 12
- GDP - 454
So, this was a growth-obsessed report, with a decided monetary focus that ignored inequality and the impact of decisions on those on low incomes and the planet.
I think that says all we need to know.
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Erm…………..can you slow down? I can’t keep up!!
I agree, this was austerity – she gas lit the whole country yesterday and cynically exploited the most vulnerable people in doing so.
An infamous day for sure.
Slowing down now
Adrenalin can’t flow at this rate forever
You missed “agile”. There were at least two of those. I still haven’t a clue what it means, when applied to a Chancellor trapped by “cast-iron” fiscal rules.
I need to slow down too. I’ve got two lemoon biscuit tarts to make.
‘Agile’ is I think a project management tool favoured by Whitehall. The DWP used it to launch Universal Credit.
Maybe it has leaked into common use with our ‘poxiticians’.
John Seddon of Vanguard has ripped it to shreds on many an occasion as totally useless in creating services that actually help people.
It’s not a great tool based on what I have seen! But admittedly, not that much.
“Agile ceremonies” were very popular in the Labour Party, once Starmer became leader.
It helps during redundancies (code for everyone else multitasking & working at jobs they weren’t trained for and having to take responsibility for decision-making way above their paygrade).
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-starmer-jobs-cut-election-b1904088.html
Given how often he U-turned/lied/dumped pledges, he needed to be agile.
A bit of centrist-dad nostalgia for Starmer fans…
https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2024/01/18/agile-keir-starmer-tipped-to-glide-into-downing-street-in-labours-centenary-year/
PSR is mostly right. I believe that, typically, ‘Agile methodology’ is a way of rapidly developing a product or project based on an iterative development review cycles – it claims to favour individuals and interaction over processes and tools. The idea is to get something to work, rather than spend the time getting a ‘perfect’ project specification/documentation. This is great for small (often software) projects that are not critical – “fail fast, fix it then try again’ is absolutely fine for little projects where any consequences of failure are limited / zero. I don’t think it is used in complex one-off projects by NASA/ESA – but is something that SpaceX have done in developing their launch vehicle (try it, fail fast, fix it, iterate).
The suitability of this methodology for complex policy areas seems much more limited. Being charitable, perhaps what she means is to have detailed reviews to test the consequences of different approaches as a method of evolving their policy position? It would be good if the assessments were done internally rather than to chop and change their stated intent. Though that is what they’ve done with NHS England (50%, then 100% reduction). Optimistically, perhaps it demonstrates an openness to a wholesale rethink of Labour’s many errors since gaining office (but I doubt it!). Less charitably, perhaps she just wants to be associated with a buzzy-wordy-trendy methodology ???
My two pence worth in THE LEFT LANE:
“LABOUR MPs with pro-people principles should resign as LABOUR MPs. NOW!
End the illusion that Labour is a party of “change.” Instead, it’s just the same old, same old. ”
https://theleftlane2024.substack.com/p/labour-mps-with-pro-people-principles