{"id":73645,"date":"2024-01-05T08:41:43","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T08:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=73645"},"modified":"2024-01-05T08:41:43","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T08:41:43","slug":"labour-needs-to-get-real-experts-who-know-wtaf-theyre-doing-or-risk-a-one-term-meltdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2024\/01\/05\/labour-needs-to-get-real-experts-who-know-wtaf-theyre-doing-or-risk-a-one-term-meltdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour needs to get real experts who know WTAF they\u2019re doing or risk a one term meltdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Den Howlett<\/a> is an old friend of mine. Readers of this blog have a lot to thank him for. He was the accountant and tech specialist who persuaded me that I really should start blogging, way back in 2006. As I occasionally tell him, he's the person who changed my life by doing so.<\/p>\n

For about a decade between then and now, Den was in the US, but then retired and came back here. We kept in touch. Last night, he posted this comment on the blog<\/a>, picking up on one dimension of his life since his return:<\/p>\n

@Richard \u2013 you know me well so take this as it reads.<\/p>\n

As someone who hasn\u2019t been political for 50 years I became sufficiently concerned with what I saw that I joined the Labour Party and am now a branch secretary. The theory is that it\u2019s better to be inside the tent pissing out than the other way around.<\/p>\n

What I can say is that what you see in the public domain is pretty much all there is to see. Some of \u2018us\u2019 are asking the exact same questions many here, including your good self. Answers are thin on the ground and some of our leaders are borderline idiots, promoted well beyond their capabilities beyond those required to get elected. Trust me \u2013 I\u2019ve met a handful.<\/p>\n

What I have said many times is:<\/p>\n

1 \u2013 Party comms are shambolic and whoever is in charge needs firing. Witness the Starmer\/Gaza fiasco which IS affecting wards and constituencies.<\/p>\n

2 \u2013 Labour needs experts and not the Big 4. It needs the expertise of those who have been IN the care\/NHS systems.<\/p>\n

3 \u2013 the Party\u2019s understanding of tech is appallingly poor and misguided. I could give some embarassing examples.<\/p>\n

4 \u2013 Reeves is backing herself into a corner that will almost certainly torpedo her aspirations.<\/p>\n

In short, Labour needs to get REAL experts who know WTAF they\u2019re doing or risk a one term meltdown with Reform charging through the middle in 2028-29.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Labour really should be listening to people like Den Howlett.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Den Howlett is an old friend of mine. Readers of this blog have a lot to thank him for. He was the accountant and tech
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