This is Northumberland Calling 14.3.25
The Bonfire of the Quangos begins edition
Hello America (Particularly Central Ohio) this is Northumberland Calling
Starmer lit the touch paper to the bonfire of Quangos yesterday by abolishing the 2012 (aka Cameron) bureaucratic bemouth which is NHS England. About 10 k of duplicate jobs are going and the Dept of Health is taking back control https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/13/how-nhs-england-went-so-wrong/ or https://archive.ph/KbAXv
It was in their manifesto and the architect behind it is Alan Milburn who ran the health service under Blair. It would seem there has been a re-emergence of Blairites – from Peter Mandelson as US ambassador to Jonathon Powell as NSA advisor and now Milburn. Powell famously helped to broker the Good Friday Agreement. Hint – I suspect they are reasonably competent but I don’t think a return to Blair was what many voters voted for…Blue Labour does seem to have some of these Blairite elements. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/03/13/alan-milburn-blairite-labour-nhs-overhaul/ or https://archive.ph/XPOjQ
I suspect it is only the start as Healey’s speech on 18 Feb said that they were completely overhauling the Defence procurement system, simplifying it in order to help get the £10 billion savings over the decade which Healey promised. Starmer’s speech made it clear that they consider the civil service flabby. Despite promises, the Cameron coalition government really expanded the civil service and Johnson expanded it again due to Brexit and COVID. The people hired were not necessarily union members and Labour isn’t wedded to such things. Again, read the Blue Labour manifesto to understand the direction of travel. Parliamentary sovereignty aka government taking the hard decisions, not Quangos. A lot of outsourcing has gone on to technocrats. This is possibly a point of commonality between the Trump administration and Starmer’s even if Starmer is taking a less flamboyant approach. https://www.bluelabour.org/about-us
Baroness Falkner has made an intervention in the two-tier justice scandal as the Quango in question refused to listen to the Lord Chancellor – basically pointing out that the proposed changes were discriminatory against white males and positive discrimination is prohibited under the Eq Act 2010. It remains to be seen if the control over sentencing is taken back into the Justice Dept as the Lord Chancellor threatened. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/12/two-tier-sentencing-discriminatory-watchdog/ or https://archive.ph/uPGHU
A shocking employment tribunal is ongoing against the Met which reveals the extent of capture. The Met are being sued for discrimination re Gender Critical beliefs because they compelled a woman to sit through certain training. Apparently, the Women’s Right Network (full disclosure I am a member) was investigated as being a terrorist network but they decided the women were too clever in their defence of women’s rights and had stayed within the law. You have to laugh or you’d cry. Tribunal Tweets is doing its thing but the Telegraph has done an article on the proceedings. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/13/met-police-trans-row-pride-jk-rowling/ or https://archive.ph/L2619
The Bank of England decided not to impose DEI reporting regulations on finance companies. This is a huge win for free speech etc and does come after intensive lobbying by certain groups of middle aged women who stay within the law as well as by the Free Speech Union. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/03/12/bank-england-scraps-diversity-rules-dei-backlash/ or https://archive.ph/H9pwN
The Ugandan UN judge has been found guilty of enslaving a young woman while she was studying at Oxford. Sentencing on 2 May. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/crime/article/lydia-mugambe-slavery-conviction-united-nations-judge-99n9ttdbd or https://archive.ph/XB3QK
As some of you might have guessed, I worry a great deal about what is currently happening with the realignment of the geopolitical order. I found this well-reasoned article oddly comforting. ‘Order flows from power.’ Yes, we are staring into this great abyss ( real world fallout has started – Portugal will look elsewhere and is no longer going to purchase 28 F35s apparently) , but Trump could yet prove to be a stalwart defender of democracy and the post WW2 order. One must always have hope. https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/renegade-order-trump-hal-brands
Because Putin has started behaving like a tsar, the Times have done interesting piece on some of his female relatives who are starting to emerge from the shadows. One, the current deputy defence minister (no other qualifications but Cousin Vlad wanted it, according to a British Intelligence report referenced in the article) makes for interesting reading. She does keep letting state secrets slip. The book Putin’s People is also good on the court of Vlad. https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/putin-wife-family-z9f7hpgfn?t=1741889179507 or https://archive.ph/a4QBG
The Prince of Wales is going to Estonia to meet with the troops who are stationed there. He also posts anonymously on Aston Villa fan chat forums. The Princess of Wales wore Canadian red for the Commonwealth service. The King and Queen sat on chairs made in Canada for the service. Discrete support is the Royals modus operandi . https://www.thetimes.com/uk/royal-family/article/royal-support-for-canada-a-discreet-show-of-medals-music-and-red-k69w3w935 or https://archive.ph/9KB7u
Personally I think the UK should just hand the Chagos islands to Trump who appears to want to expand US territory. It would solve certain problems like the lease to Mauritius for Diego Garcia. But what do I know. Keir Starmer's Chagos Islands deal faces legal challenge | Politics | News | Express.co.uk
Here – my second revisions are just about done. It was going in with a scalpel because I was bumping against the word count but needed to deepen the emotion. Series books have a rigid word count. Single title are less rigid on the word count but there are certain conventions about length.
Paddy was most disturbed because we had the tree surgeons in trimming the trees and nobody asked him about strange men walking in his garden or indeed climbing trees. They are now finished and Paddy is sound asleep with Hercules on cat guard duty because starlings…
Hopefully everyone else’s week was a good one. See you in the comments.
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For the last several weeks that old folk tale of many versions keeps coming to mind. You know the one where the old man's hardworking strong son broke his leg and so was laid up and couldn't keep the farm running. All the old man's neighbors commiserated saying how awful and how unlucky this was. Then the government came through the area conscripting into the army all the young strong men, but couldn't of course take the young man with the broken leg. So now all the neighbors told the old man how lucky he was that his son broke his leg because it saved him from the army! The tale goes on, but that's the drift and for me expresses how I feel about world politics right now--we have no idea how this is all coming out in the wash cuz the good the bad and the ugly are all wrapped up together in one big messy pile up!
Hello Northumberland! Good to see You again this Friday. Another fine roundup of articles.
It doesn't sound like You're too sorry to see the NHS get the ax. Interesting articles.
And that was interesting about Blue Labour.
I think Baroness Falkner is right.
I agree with those who say the Met is captured. I hope the courts find it so.
Glad to see the PRA's and FCA's plans on DEI come to a halt.
That is shocking about the Ugandan judge.
I've put Hal Brands article on the to-read list. Yes, we must have hope.
Yes, Putin is the new tsar.
I'm wishing You good luck on finalizing the revisions. Paddy and Hercules look so cute.
And, as always, TY for Your work, Michelle.