Letter to the Prime Minister, 12th February 2010
Dear Prime MinisterIt is now 7 years since we were corruptly handled by Revenue/VOA civil servants, with the ombudsman creating ‘porkies’ in her attempt to get them ‘off the hook’. We have informed you and other ministers on numerous occasions about the corruption against us – without reply.
Because of this government ‘close down’ of our case, and acquiescence re crooked public servants, we have taken a closer look at public sector deceit and corruption in general. We found that so much incompetence, fraud and corruption by ministers, mandarins and civil servants give indication that ethics have largely been abandoned, there being little or no accountability within the public sector for the public purse. We have likened much of the civil service as a 5th column.
There is the inevitable inertia by many incompetents within the pubic sector; that has allowed £billions go to waste. The civil service is largely a closed society, secretive, defensive, and often impenetrable to change. Such contempt, with added skulduggery and deceit, has caused the electorate to despair of ‘good governance’ and politics altogether.
Many agree with A.N. Wilson ‘that we need a wholly different approach to public administration’. We say ‘no more party hack politics!’ Get corruption out of the civil service!
The gross stupidity where loss of 25 million people’s personal and bank details by the Revenue only produced painful child-like cover-ups! There are just too many incidents where civil servants are ‘unfit for purpose’, fouling up too many departments; such freewheeling corruption of ‘good governance’ is the fault of acquiescing Ministers, MPs and governments!
An ‘insider’ describes how, ‘Many mandarins have their own agenda, which is to do things their way, that is why many government policies never get properly through the system, or are warped by the time they get to the front line – failure to deliver.’ That many top civil servants have spent their entire lives getting their civil servants to work the way they want’.
This is a perfect example re the corruption of the democratic audit, so often tolerated with some fear by Ministers and MPs. Another nail in the coffin of blind eyed ‘party hack politics!’
We see how seriously incompetent ministers, mandarins and civil servants, quite out of their depth, have been allowed to turn to the IT industry as a sort of saviour from the oft public sector stupidity – with disastrous results. Once IT has been installed, many civil servants are incapable of making it work properly.
The Public Accounts Committee and other bodies point out how government and civil servants are infamous for their inability to properly commission and manage IT projects. Too often, the
highest bidder, regardless of competence gets the IT contracts? After many years one gets the impression that such undisciplined spending by civil servants is encouraged. There is certainly a ‘couldn’t give a damn’ attitude re the public purse, that helps foul-up good government.
One sees the same squalid incompetence right through the public sector, where the Home Office the MOD, the DWP, Treasury and Revenue/VOA etc, all have more than their fair share of stupidity. One has to ask. ‘Do we suffer from a public sector ‘kickback’ culture?
Many PFI projects were overpriced - yet agreed, £billions go down the drain without a care in the world! The question of ‘kickbacks’ within the public sector is not too far fetched when one considers, that the National Fraud Authority states that fraud across the country came to £30billion; 58% of this fraud was in the public sector?
Despite what appears to be genuine claims that the government intended to flood the country with immigrants; there was failure to filter criminals. From this politically inspired disaster, the unfit for purpose Home Office has enabled organised crime to flourish with successful ‘people trafficking’. These criminal gangs boast they have little fear of being apprehended by the entrenched stupidity at the Home Office. Because of this HO ineptitude we now have ‘self-induced slavery’ within the UK!
What is particularly painful to the whole nation, is that many members of the public who tried to voice their honest concerns re overloaded immigration, were often shouted down by what appeared to be organised party hacks - the idiotic Politically Correct brigade. NO ONE DOES STUPIDITY BETTER THAN THE POLITICALLY CORRECT.
An article in the Guardian claims, that the “Home Office’s support for the DNA database is shot through with error and underhand manoeuvres”. The HO attempted to deceive a committee scrutinising the Crime and Securities bill. When caught out lying, the HO claimed the deceit was due to ‘administrative error? Of this puny HO cover-up deceit, the Guardian remarks ‘that it makes one ‘realise the standards expected of ministers and HO civil servants no longer exists!’
The electorate realises that the state is not to be trusted!
Public sector stupidity has stunted the growth of our democracy and helped ruin parliament. The nation asks, ‘How come Ministers and MPs failed to ‘scream out’ at these dysfunctional departments’. The government’s ‘blind eye’ treatment given to MOD procurement officials has proved disastrous; MOD failure to purchase proper equipment caused death/injury to our troops!
Recently Sir Christopher Kelly pointed out to MPs within a Select Committee, that they had been “going along with a system that they must have known was flawed.” MPs who had not abused their expenses claims, had forgotten Lord Nolan's cry that ‘everyone must be ‘active’ against public sector corruption’ – everyone is liable for the integrity of parliament, yet MPs remained stumm – as though parliamentary corruption was not vile enough to cause a stir.
One gets the feeling that the attainment of good governance is never going to happen.
BADLY MANAGED GOVERNMENTS CAN LOSE BILLIONS WITHOUT EVER GOING BANKRUPT? Taxpayers, with MPs consent, are forced to bankroll this corruption.
Who is not aware that government extravagance, Treasury stupidity, and civil service fraudulence and wastefulness, means more taxes – whilst the necessities of life for many of the electorate are forever rising above the water line.
All this while many MPs had dodgy ‘expenses’ – civil servants had dodgy ‘bonuses, a sick note culture and police enjoyed high salaries, a sick note culture and incomprehensible overtime payments.
There is a certain meltdown in our society, where for instance police are accused by senior Ministers of failing the public; staying warm rather than being out on the beat - neglecting the publics safety. Yet they are so well organised when it comes to their own protection.
‘Police can rely on the Police Federation, The Superintendents Assn, the Assn of Chief Police Officers, The Black and Asian Police Assn, The Lesbians and Gay Police Assn. While the unfortunate Transgender Officers are left out in the cold at the moment, awaiting funding to form their own National Transgender Police Assn.’
It somehow makes being mugged the lesser of all evils.
I somehow get the feeling it’s about time we stopped paying taxes.
There is something wholly fraudulent about ‘wholesale deceit’ within the public sector; it goes against the spirit and moral aspirations of the nation. The loss of faith in politics can be seen as pulling the ‘finger from the hole in the dyke’ analogy - lets open the floodgates and clean the Augean stables. The public has had enough of taking part in stifling party hack politics and the stifling acquiescing hack politicians.
People believe that we will never be a democracy until we overturn the ridiculous and insular two-party system that has somehow manacled the electorate, limiting its freedom of choice?
Political skulduggery of course is always round the corner! It puts an extra nasty taste in the mouth to learn of even more Commons skulduggery, where some MPs use Parliament as a private dining club for financial advantage one way or the other.
Just to name two, Patricia Hewitt booked rooms for BT just prior to being made a BT director, earning some £60,000. While David Cameron hosted 16 receptions, including one from Oxfordshire Lady Freemasons?
About 50 events were held in parliament for the BBC? 9 for the Nuclear Industry and 21 for the UK Defence Forum, this is a lobbying group that has links with the bribery experts BAE?
While these events may not all be crooked or fraudulent, (they were held against the rules) when money is earned or changes hands within the confines of the Mother of Parliament – questions should be asked – we are all well aware that politicians cannot be trusted?
Who can forget Robin Cook’s assertions that the arms giant BAE, the bribery specialist, had entry to the back door of No 10?
It was revealed (Jan 2010) that there is continuous failure within the Child Support Agency. In a debate re ‘human trafficking’, it was claimed that we are now losing children in care? Even more absurdity - it was revealed that some 180 government officials were set up to work in trafficking, but they do not appear to be competent – par for course – how easily civil service incompetents become officials?
It is claimed that intelligent traffickers are just too clever for the ‘run of the mill’ civil servant.
In a debate, Jan 2010 attended by MPs in relation to the care and protection of abused/battered woman – it was claimed by a woman MP, that no one does ‘stupid’ better than the Home Office, Local Governments and police!
The Times claims, that nearly £1m is spent each month on a quango unable to start work because the minister has not defined guidelines? Even more public sector stupidity!
The Daily Express reports, ‘Doling out more than a £m in benefits to just 10 people. That the DWP claims it is owed well over a £m in overpaid income support by its 10 biggest debtors?
It claims that there is a £800m benefit scandal? There is a constant frenzied waste of public money that has gone on for too long, that one must ask again, were any of these ‘over the top’ payments deliberate? Are we into ‘kickbacks’?
In a debate re ‘Exporting Benefits’ in Westminster Hall, MPs claimed that the DWP illegally stop benefits – that civil servants ‘think up’ reasons not to pay people living abroad for health reasons.
Public sector stupidity yet again, it is claimed that one benefit cheat was to repay £70,000 at £14 pw – taking about 100 years? Obviously no one is allowed to ask whom these idiotic civil servants are, that allowed the £70,000 debt situation to occur in the first place?
The public sector abuse of public money comes from all angles. The disclosure from a minister that a ‘task force’ was set up to tackle debtors owing more than £10,000, and that the recovery of money was up on the 2005/6 figure of £180m to more than £280m? This gives indication to the serious long-term dysfunctionality within the DWP.
One cannot help but think, that many a ‘task force’ should be set up to investigate the original stupidity shown by civil servants?
Such corruption of the public purse goes on year in year out – are political activist trying to bankrupt the system? How come Ministers, MPs, the Cabinet Office etc are forever turning a blind eye to this gigantic administrative stupidity? The constant leeching of public funds from the Revenue etc means that taxes have to be hiked ever-higher year by year. Employing the likes of Al Capone to run our finances would have been cheaper!
This continuous public sector neglect destroys all public faith and aspirations that ‘good governance’ is ever attainable, that political neglect of ‘good governance’ is so fraudulent that our hopes for clean politics is never going to be solved or delivered by MPs or civil servants.
Prime Minister we suggest that political corruption is always ‘just around the corner’, or about to ‘fall from a cupboard’.
We suggest that the Politically Correct teach schoolchildren that Adolph Hitler and Joseph Stalin and Pol Pot, were all leading politicians – all started out as party hacks?
A few hundred years ago we suffered the Divine Right of Kings, today we suffer the Divine Right of Prime Ministers, who agreed secretly to divide up the Prime Ministers Office, much like Fagin dishing out the spoils of crime. Not a word to the electorate about the new line in Tammany Hall style of Divine Rights?
It’s not all bad news though, because B&Q do a fantastic line in ‘sustainable gallows’.
Because the corrupt acts against us have been side-lined by complaint procedures and ombudsman deceit, we inform the Internet, media, universities, student unions and various organisations interested in the many events and officials who have corrupted ‘good governance’!
From an old war pensioner corruptly handled by civil servants and ombudsman!
AW & I Tanner cc to all interested in public sector corruption (34)