Below is a recent blog I wrote for the LSE Politics and Policy blog on the public sector employment culture.
Today thousands of union members will meet for the 143rd annual TUC Congress in London amid increasing threats of industrial action and civil disobedience from union leaders. Over the next three days, they will discuss an agenda that opposes virtually any reform of public sector employment, including job losses, local autonomy over pay and conditions in schools, and the targeting of sick leave and absenteeism as “soft targets to save money”. While this agenda is not surprising, it does stand in direct opposition to the notion of better public services, for both the taxpayers that use them and the public servants that work within them.
As Reform’s new report on the public sector workforce, Reformers and wreckers, shows, many public services are currently handicapped by an outdated employment culture where what matters is how long you have been in the job, rather than how you perform in it, and where local managers are prevented from making the most from their staff. Just 40 per cent of public sector organisations use bonus schemes to encourage higher staff performance, compared to over 80 per cent in the private sector. 60 per cent of public sector organisations continue to pay by length of service, irrespective of performance, against just 8 per cent of private sector organisations.
The result of this culture is a poorly incentivised workforce where low productivity and low morale prevails. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has found that public sector employees are often disengaged with their organisations and managers, while private and voluntary sector employees consistently register net approval ratings for their employment. Public servants are also far more likely to be absent from work, averaging just under ten days each a year, compared to under seven for their private sector counterparts.
However, a number of leading public service organisations are already tackling these issues and demonstrating that, even in times of straitened finances, transforming the workforce can have a marked effect on the quality of the service itself. At Denbigh High School, situated in one of the most deprived areas of Luton, the introduction of a comprehensive continuous professional development for teachers has helped take pupil attainment of five A* to C grade GCSEs from less than 20 per cent in 1993 to 100 per cent last year. In Salford, the implementation of greater community policing and more efficient management has helped Greater Manchester Police to drastically improve response times to incidents and reduce the crime backlog by more than two-thirds in less than a year.
Furthermore, these visionary organisations show that improvements can be made with less staff. Merseyside Fire and Rescue, for instance, reduced the number of firefighters by nearly 40 per cent, from 1,500 to fewer than 900, in the decade to 2007. However, by shifting to a preventative service model, in which firefighters conducted home fire safety checks, installed smoke alarms and toured local communities to raise awareness among residents, Merseyside halved the number of domestic fires in the area. At the same time, Merseyside reduced the sickness absence among firefighters from 18 shifts a year to less than 5, saving approximately £2 million a year.
We all want better schools, like Denbigh High, more responsive policing, like Greater Manchester, and safer communities, like those served by Merseyside Fire and Rescue. If these are to become the rule rather than the exception, the Government, and the unions, must accept that the employment culture within services needs to radically change.
Ladies and gents, boys and girls, muppets, trumpets and downright strumpets, I apologise.
I have been absent for nigh on two months, plying my trade in amongst those very corridors of power I so readily seek to ridicule. And so much that I have missed - ginger rodents scurrying around at the heart of Government, “unenforceable” child benefit mishaps, Respublica being named the “thinktank to watch“…the political landscape seems to have fallen upon itself in a fit of ineptitude and I, sadly, was not here commentating. So yes, I am sorry, and will endeavour, in the same measured resonant tones of Barack Obama, to “do better”.
So yes, I am back in the game, here, for now and for the foreseeable future, rustling up tidbits of political goss with perhaps a few arguments, opinions, policy critiques of my own thrown in for good measure…enjoy, comment, retweet, share, subscribe, follow - do whatever you kids do these days…
Yours, forever and always,
Politickle
The younger Milibandroid has added to the party political “welcome mat” previously laid out for defecting Liberal Democrat MPs by writing to disenchanted Lib Dem voters in an audacious bid to swell Labour’s ranks.
Writing in the Guardian, Ed lavishes praise upon on “party of proud traditions”, and argues that key Liberal Democrat principles are “being abandoned by Clegg as he goes along with damaging cuts in public spending undermining economic growth, tax rises hitting the poorest hardest, and a clear threat to the universal welfare state”. And so continues the Clegg betrayal rhetoric of Labour hopefuls.
Ed’s message is succinctly penned in the final paragraph:
Help build the society of equality, liberty and democracy that we all believe in, and stop the unfairness of this coalition. Leaving your party is the most honourable course when your party leadership leaves you.
What is interesting about this episode is the supposed political credibility such party political wranglings have in the Labour leadership race. Presumably Ed Miliband knows that it is an equally disgruntled and disenchanted ranks of Labour that represents his target audience….?
Matthew Elliott, the co-founder of pressure group The TaxPayer’s Alliance, has stepped down from the day-to-day running of the organisation to head up the “No to AV” campaign. Mr Elliott had this to say on the matter:
“Having spent the past five years campaigning alongside you against expenses abuses by MPs, I know that you share my belief in accountable and transparent politics, which shifts power from politicians to the people. The AV electoral system would be a step backwards on all of these fronts, making politicians less accountable and elections less transparent.”
“From a taxpayers’ point of view, I am also disturbed to learn that the referendum is going to cost us £100 million. Britain therefore especially needs and deserves an effective ‘No’ campaign, and this is why I feel it should be the focus of my attention from October.”
He will now be working from www.no2av.org against the controversial proposal, though they are yet to get their site up and running.
While Dave Miliband is busy giving supporters tips on how to throw a banging house party, his brother Ed has been busy jumping upon the “Living Wage” bandwagon after weeks of relatively insubstantial support for Ken Livingstone’s legacy policy.
Today, Ed drew upon some number-crunching by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS) in a commitment to introduce tax incentives for companies that pay employees a “living wage” of at least £7.60 an hour.
The IFS research found that the implementation of a higher “living wage” in the private sector would lead to “an increase in gross earnings of between £11.4 billion and £12.0 billion, of which about to £4.5 billion to £4.9 billion would accrue to the Government through higher income tax and employee national insurance payments and lower spending on benefits and tax credits”.
All very well and good, you may say, especially for Labour members critical of Blair and Brown’s legacy for the lowest income bracket despite successive commitments to the poorest in society (National Minimum Wage notwithstanding).
However, Ed’s figures don’t quite add up. For one, the £0.9 billion gain in the public sector is dwarfed by the £3.2-3.4 billion cost in higher public sector wage bills and higher employer NI contributions.
Similarly, the seemingly rosy calculations for the private sector crucially fail to take into account the effect of higher wage bills on companies’ revenue, and the accompanying knock-on drop in corporation tax revenue and income tax on corporate dividends, or any impact on consumer taxes such as VAT.
Then again, it is better than Ed Balls’ empty pledge to pay interns and volunteers the minimum wage I suppose.
Charles Kennedy, erstwhile Lib Dem leader and party grandee, has categorically dismissed speculation of an impending defection to the Labour Party. In an interview with the Mail on Sunday, he branded the rumours “absolute rubbish”, adding, “I will go out of this world with my Lib Dem membership card in my pocket”. Chatter had been brewing that the former leader was considering crossing the house after he was “unable to vote” in favour of the Coalition Deal in May, but it was not until this weekend that the rumour mill descended into full swing around a possible move.
Labour hopeful Ed Miliband yesterday lent some credibility to the whispers, saying, “there are a lot of Lib Dems who are very unhappy over the direction of this government…and my message to them is that I want Labour to be your home, I want you to come over to us and the door is open”, though he denied being in personal contact with the former Lib Dem leader.
Meanwhile Nick Clegg, the beleaguered current Lib Dem leader, summed up the episode by saying, “I can’t do better than say what Charles has said which is that it’s the silliest of the the silly season stories”.
(John Prescott reveals the size of Labour’s money bags)
John Prescott, the recently ennobled Lord of Hull, has issued a stark warning that the Labour Party is “on the verge of bankruptcy”, with “more than £20 million in debt”, “a long-term decline in membership and a funding crisis”. Writing on the Guardian website in preparation for his candidature for the post of party treasurer, Prezza said that greater focus must be applied to the party’s core areas of financial support - trade unions, small donations and high-value donors like Dr Chai Patel and Gordon Crawford. The bruiser also implicated former PMs Tony and Gordon in the financial muddle, implicitly blaming the cash-for-peerages scandal and the 2007 “election that never was” as costing the party dearly, leaving only £10 million for the election campaign
His words come as the Tories faced embarrassment over their own co-treasurer, as millionaire donor David Rowland announced he did not want the job that he had previously accepted.
James Cleverly, the Deputy Leader of the Conservatives in the London Assembly, has said what we were all thinking and branded Simon Hughes, the loudmouth Lib Dem Deputy, a “dick” and a “fool” on his social media pages. In a blog post entitled “Oh do shut up Simon”, which was subsequently routed to Twitter (as seen below), Mr Cleverly succinctly ruined the tiresome and omnipresent game of “Simon says” developing over in Westminster over the past few weeks.
In the full blog post, Cleverly called Hughes’ idea of a Lib Dem Coalition veto “bone-headed”, concluding that “if Hughes feels it impossible to work with the Conservatives and his own front bench Lib Dem colleagues why not just bugger off to Labour and let the serious politicians get on with it. I agree, James, but unfortunately, Labour don’t want him.
Caroline Pidgeon, leader of the Liberal Democrats in the LA, dismissed the comments as “juvenile and offensive”. However in a later posting, James stood by his words, mustering the half-baked apology, “to be fair name calling is a bit childish.”
“Woah, hold up there guys…work with Clegg? Not bloody likely.”
Ed Miliband today attempted to firmly close the lid on the Simon Hughes jack-in-a-box by saying that Hughes’ suggestion of a pact between the Liberal Democrats and Labour could only happen should Nick ‘do a Gordon’ and stand down first.
After Hughes stuck his head out yet again in defence of the neglected left-wing of the Liberal establishment to raise the unlikely prospects of coalition vetos and Lib-Lab pacts, Ed quickly ran a mile shouting, “Given what he is supporting [spending cuts], I think it is pretty hard to go into coalition with him”. Whether this will bring about a Hughes/MIliband alliance is uncertain, but we strongly advise Ed against such a move.
Meanwhile, Ed Balls, ever the outrageous flirt, played it coy, only saying “whether Nick Clegg is today truly a Liberal Democrat, in a way that Liberal Democrats would recognise, I don’t know”. If, unlike me you give more than an eighth of a hoot what the man has to say on the economy, watch here. If not, you will undoubtedly find this more entertaining.
Simon Hughes, Lib Dem Deputy Leader and all round Protector of the Liberal Democratic cause, has given up trying to differentiate between Tory and Lib Dem policies and is now calling for a veto on Coalition policies for Liberal Democrat MPs.
In an interview with the Beeb, Hughes, upset that Clegg’s fort-holding is hogging the media limelight, said that Lib Dem MPs should be able to say, “No, we can’t go down this road” (or similar worthless phrase) to halt proceedings. Sounding quite a lot like the stroppy six-year-old threatening to run away from home, Hughes suggested that a Lib Dem coalition with Labour was very much still “on the agenda” for 2015, that is if Labour will have them.
Ed Balls, Labour leadership hopeful and marginal MP, has taken a leaf out of Dave’s Guide to Social Media Campaigning and launched his very own version of “WebCameron” to reignite his faltering campaign. Presumably this is where all Ken Follett’s money is going…oh, and to the intern and volunteer salaries, of course - yeah right.
Ed’s virtual presence is far more professional than the “authentic” WebCameron, with Dave’s homely scenes of cooking breakfast replaced by sinister lighting, more make-up than Heath Ledger’s ‘Joker’ and some serious backtracking on his cosy relationship a certain M.I.A. former Prime Minister.
The video can be found at the candidate’s very own YouTube channel.
(All Dave needs is two wheels and the open road to keep in shape)
It seems the new residents of Number 11 Downing Street are somewhat unimpressed by the interior design style of the former residents. SamCam has apparently decided that only black marble will do for the kitchen [darling], while carpets are also reportedly being ripped out and a partition wall installed. Meanwhile, Dave, treasuring the rounded paunch he has acquired since the frantic pace of the campaign trail slowed to the largely sedentary life of PM, has chucked out Tony’s mirrored gym.
And so, with the flourish of a Smythsons accessory, the last vestiges of Tony Blair are swept from Downing Street…although, with one monument nearing the skip, Tony is already busy arranging another, this time with “blood money” (apparently), as the Royal British Legion will tell you…
Today, Nick Clegg will, no doubt nervously and with gaffes galore, assume the great office of Prime Minister. As Dave swans off to Cornwall for a jolly old hoot with SamCam and Co., Little Nick will serve as acting PM in his absence. In the next fortnight, “I agree with” is expected to hold (D)PM Direct meetings, drum up dwindling Lib Dem support on a makeshift campaign trail, and, most terrifyingly of all, address those within his own party criticising the coalition.
Among the detractors and disbelievers, towering above the rest in terms of time spent publicly thrashing the Coalition, is Simon Hughes, Deputy Leader of the Party. Having already attempted to put considerable distance between the Lib Dems and their Conservative partners, Simon is at it again, this time making sure we know for sure that the Liberal Democrats aren’t morphing into some horrific Tory-Liberal hybrid. Here he is:
(Alan Milburn’s intentions were apparent even back then…)
Alan Milburn, former Labour Cabinet Minister and all-round family man, is reportedly being lined up as the Coalition’s new “Social Mobility Tsar” in what Andy Burnham, struggling for publicity in amongst the Milibands and Balls of this world, is describing as “no way to treat the good people who voted for a Labour candidate”.
Milburn, a fallen star of Blairite Labour, undertook a significant study of social mobility before the election and himself worked his way up the greasy pole from ‘umble roots, so knows the subject well. Moreover, he is seemingly in for a humdinger of a return to the political fray after agreeing to join the thinktank Demos, following fellow Blair babe James Purnell’s switch to the IPPR.
