Bullying at No 10
- 24 February 2010 22:0441321Hello - anyone want to comment on the charity? They played a big part in confirming (sic) this episode.......
- 24 February 2010 23:5241330The Charity is a side issue.
- 25 February 2010 12:3441353Bern, you are obviously still spinning and will eventually fall over if not careful.
Last night the top civil servant bloke in number10 was answering questions in committee about this matter and he confirmed that he had spoken to Gordie about "his behaviour" towards junior staff and civil servant in particular. The word "bullying" was not mentioned, but the implication, particularly after the Chancellor's announcement earlier is that Gordie really does have behavioural issues unbecoming for someone in such a position.
There you go, a whole paragraph not depending on the gutter press for info. All verifyable through the usual officlal sources.
Once gain, the Charity is a convenient side issue. - 25 February 2010 22:0341397No it isn't (is it panto season again!?) It is an indicator of how the blues will try to discredit GB, or anyone who gets in the way.
- 25 February 2010 22:1541399We dont have to try to discredit Brown, he is very good at doing that himself. Rawnsley is no a blue and neither are the Labour insiders what have told tales of Brown's reign of terror.
There is an interesting article about it in the Grauniad, not exactly a cheerleader for the blues...
Its by Jenni Russell
To quote:
""""There's a school of thought in Labour circles which believes that the prime minister's behaviour doesn't matter, that accusations of bullying are either unproven or irrelevant, and that all anyone cares about is how well he does the job. I couldn't disagree more with each assertion. Gordon Brown's rages are well known among the small circle in which he operates, are deeply destructive to good governance, and are a key to understanding why this man's government has been so unco-ordinated, unhappy and ineffectual in so many ways.
Anyone who has worked alongside a bully knows how destabilising they can be. The tension and fright that a highly placed bully creates cascades down an organisation, as impotent subjects and witnesses relieve their own feelings by being sharp, tense or unfair to their colleagues or inferiors. Bad behaviour is legitimised, and anxiety gets in the way of good decision-making.""""
Another very telling and interesting section that explains a lot about the problems of this Government is this part of the article.
"""Last year I asked a cabinet minister why a reform of which he was particularly proud was taking so long to become a reality. He shrugged. Held up in Downing Street, he said, with the prime minister, who didn't like it, refusing to make a decision one way or another. Why didn't he demand some clarity, I asked. You can't do that with Gordon, he said. He won't talk to you if he doesn't want to, and you can't argue with him if you disagree with him; he just flies into a rage. So what is your department doing, I asked. Waiting, he said. Paralysed.""""
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/feb/25/only-paralysis-fear-pervades-workplace
The fact is that Brown, as a person, as a PM and as a Chancellor, has been a total disaster for this country and the ineffective weak fools who allow him to continue in office are just as guilty. A government of cowards, fools and charlatans. - 25 February 2010 23:0541401They aren't the first, and won't be the last sadly.
- 26 February 2010 08:2541409Now that I can agree with.......
- 26 February 2010 10:0641416I watched a very interesting programme on the BBC4 channel late last night about the Treasury, its role, its incumbents, its style of working etc. Many fascinating interviews and insights from Callaghan, Howe, Thatcher, Lawson, Clarke, Brown, Healy, Lamont, Gus O'Donnell the current PermSec, and current Chancellor Alistair Darling, plus a plethora of other senior members covering a 40 year span.
I got the distinct impression from the programme that there was little doubt Ken Clarke was the best Chancellor when it came to fiscal matters, but for updating the institution dear old Gordie was head and shoulders above the rest put together.
Also interesting was the analysis of failed relations between the PM and Chancellor which, in every case precipitated a financial disaster of some kind (usually devaluation in the case of Labour Governments or City crisis for the Tories), but mostly all ending in disaster at the next General Election for the Government.
The programme cn still be watched/downloaded from BBI iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00r0sf5/The_Great_Offices_of_State_The_Secret_Treasury/
and I strongly recommend watching it. A great insight into one the major institutions of our country. - 26 February 2010 10:3241420Pity the updating has proved to be such a disaster then.
His brief to the Bank of England for interest rates was instrumental in the debt and housing bubble. He failed to include debt as one of the measures using CPI index.
Then of course he introduced the tri-partied system of regulation that left the banks able to do their worse and forget basic princilaps. Do you know that before the tri-partied regime a bank Chief Exec had to go before th BoE every 3 months with his senior team and be grilled on every aspect of their banking operations, that ended thanks to Brown.
I wont go into more detail of his reign of error at the Treasury, suffice to say that he did get one thing right, he kept us out of the Euro.
Maybe Brown was the great reformer but misguided reform leading to financial disaster is his real legacy.