The real scandal behind the Mandelson saga

Nada Kakabadse and Tim Knox have an excellent CAPX piece on government obsession with process over outcome. All normal people understand how important the difference is, in daily life we don't try to make good decisions merely by ticking boxes.


The real scandal behind the Mandelson saga

• A bad appointment cannot be rescued by good process
• Britain keeps ticking boxes while trust keeps collapsing
• Our state seems to think if you follow the rules, then the outcomes are secondary

Here is an idiotic question for an England football fan this summer. Which would they prefer winning? The World Cup itself? Or the FIFA Fair Play Trophy, awarded to the side with the best disciplinary record during the tournament?

The answer: it might be nice if England plays decently, but all of us would hugely prefer winning the real thing. Rules matter. But they are meant to support good outcomes, not replace them.

This preference for good outcomes over process applies to most of life. When we are shopping for a jar of coffee, it is a bonus to know that it has been ethically sourced. But for most of us, the primary deciding factor will be the quality of the coffee. A bad coffee, however ethically sourced, will remain a bad coffee.

One place where this does not hold is Westminster. And the Mandelson saga is the perfect illustration of how bad things are.

The whole piece is well worth reading for many reasons. Topical ones are not only the Mandelson saga, but also the absurdly futile government emphasis on economic growth by ticking ideological boxes.  

Survey research by Ipsos, in partnership with the Institute for Government, found that 49% of respondents rated the Government’s performance as poor, and 63% expressed disappointment with its record since the election. Only 23% believed governments could make substantial progress on key priorities over the next decade.

This matters because competence-based distrust is different from moral condemnation. A voter who thinks politicians are dishonest has lost faith in their character. A voter who thinks government cannot deliver has lost faith in the system’s capacity. Both are present in Britain today, and they reinforce each other.

Reeves and the Mystery of the Shrinking Growth

Rachel Reeves plots ‘growth push’ as Labour set for bruising elections

Rachel Reeves is plotting another “growth push” as the Labour party prepares itself for a potentially bruising defeat in the local elections.

Meanwhile -

154 Claire's shops, Russell & Bromley and more UK stores close down - full list

Claire's

In a huge blow, Claire's shut all 154 of its UK locations this week. Administrators at Kroll confirmed the closures, revealing that approximately 1,300 members of staff face redundancy.

Russell & Bromley

The British shoe retailer has closed 33 stores. The final Russell & Bromley closure took place on April 23, following the firm's announcement of the first 10 closures on April 21.

LK Bennett

Luxury fashion brand LK Bennett has shut nine stores following its entry into administration. The nine shops had been scheduled for closure by the end of April, although stock sold out more quickly than expected.

Ark Pet Centres

The pet retailer, which operated outlets across South and East Devon, including in Plymouth, Exeter and Torbay, confirmed the immediate closure of all its stores this week.

Unfortunately Reeves isn't likely to be any worse than Miliband or anyone else willing to take on this particular poisoned chalice. 

Even Miliband may see Chancellor of the Exchequer as a bit of a bacon sandwich role. Of course he may be picking up hints that Net Zero is becoming a bacon sandwich role too.

Use it or lose it

Government looks to tackle flight cancellations as holidays at risk

• The UK government is introducing measures to protect British families' summer holidays amid a significant rise in jet fuel costs, which have approximately doubled since the Iran war.
• Ministers will relax 'use it or lose it' flight slot rules, enabling airlines to cancel less popular routes, such as business flights, without incurring penalties.
• This initiative aims to reduce overall demand for aviation fuel and prevent last-minute cancellations of holiday flights, offering greater certainty for travellers.

Tediously familiar and all part of the 'Not our fault' narrative. 'Use it or lose it' has political relevance to any headline problem from which governments can both distance itself and virtuously meddle at the same time. 

It's the mania for micro-managing everything, every little detail of daily life and there is not the slightest sign of it slowing down.

Rental police

 

A protest for "fair affordable housing" in Berlin in 2024.

Berlin SPD wants to set up ‘rental police’ to combat exorbitant rents

The Social Democratic Party (SPD) in the German capital of Berlin has announced plans to set up a special investigative unit to examine thousands of rental contracts for supposedly excessive rents.

Okay I admit it, I only posted this story so I could include the picture which goes with it - as an example of the things demonstrators can be persuaded to do. 

Or maybe this is the uniform of the rental police. I hope so.

The Precedent Phoenix

 

It's the May Day bank holiday weekend, so let's try to wangle a mythological angle -  

We navigate our way through life by avoiding surprises and our most important social navigation guides are precedents, something we learn from our earliest childhood.

Adopting fashionable ideas or any ideas endorsed by precedent minimises social surprises, we know it so well that it becomes automatic. With precedent as a guide it is easier to navigate our way through life this way, both socially, professionally and politically.

Rejecting fashionable ideas or going against important precedents is often a problem, socially, professionally and politically. Eyebrows are raised and maybe worse, including police officers knocking on the door.

It’s a major problem for realists – but not a surprise.

This ease of following precedent, its vital importance as a social lubricant is why we cannot trust politicians – ever. There is no realist route to political power until the pressures of reality become so acute that it resets the precedents and the old ones become obsolete.

Then the precedent phoenix rebuilds itself from the ashes of the old and realists are side-lined again.

Spend it now

Britain braces for Ed Miliband, the radical left-wing chancellor

As Sir Keir Starmer looks to shore up his own authority amid expectations of heavy Labour losses in the local elections, the prospect of Miliband moving into the Treasury is no longer just hypothetical. Last week, the Prime Minister refused to say if Rachel Reeves would keep her job in a future reshuffle.

Miliband, the former Labour leader, certainly seemed buoyant last week when he addressed the Good Growth Foundation’s conference, striding onto the stage a few minutes after Jessie Ware’s aptly titled Free Yourself was blaring from the speakers.

The Energy Secretary’s speech – delivered to a standing-room-only crowd – made clear he intends to “double down, not back down” on net zero and that this would chart a path to economic growth.

When we thought it couldn't get any worse...

I'd like an argument please

From the video description- 

Rep. Rosa DeLauro got into a heated exchange with EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin on Monday after he made a comment that the Connecticut lawmaker was not familiar with a Supreme Court ruling that dictates agency power.