Lord Mandelson is losing his touch: his smokescreens used to HIDE the facts
- Jeni Barnett, Ben Goldacre, LBC and M’Learned Friends: Spartacus is Back
- Ben Goldacre of Bad Science Threatened by Lawyers for LBC and Jeni Barnett
- Ben Goldacre / Jeni Barnett case made Start the Week on Radio 4: Latest
- Lord Mandelson is losing his touch: his smokescreens used to HIDE the facts
Most men have thinning hair as they get older. For Lord Mandy Mandelbrot, it is his smokescreens that are becoming more transparent.
This week Lord Mandelbrot proclaimed that the reason why he was having to delay Post-Office Privatisation (again) was that there was insufficient Parliamentary time available :
The sale of a 30% stake in the Royal Mail was due to go to parliament before the summer recess but the business secretary said the legislation was being “jostled for space” and will happen “later”.
This is a smokescreen, and Lord Mandelbrot is losing his touch.
Post Office Privatisation Politics
We all know that the real reason are all to do with politics, and I don’t think that Lord Mandelbrot needs to be quite so mandelacious imaginative about his claimed reasons.
Post-office part privatisation with the dogma that it *must* involve one of a relatively small number of largely foreign companies is opposed by nearly everyone, does not have much of a coherent case in support of it, and is a political homing missile which (if ever I saw one) will behave like an exloding boomerang.
“OMG it won’t fit it, Milord”
And as for the “OMG we can’t fit this into Parliamentary Time, we can’t d-d-d-do it yet” allegation – honestly ! That is no reason, and it particularly isn’t a good political excuse.
Time is short because this Government decided to make it short. The current Parliamentary session involves the shortest number of sitting days for a generation. Let me quote a Guardian piece from last year:
Parliament is scheduled to sit for 128 days after the state opening by the Queen on December 3, but research by Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes indicates that this is the fewest number of days of a parliamentary session in a non-election year since 1979-80
Further, on being complained to about the shortness of the session, Harriet Harman, who has nearly as many jobs as Lord Mandelbrot (but without the influence) including Leader of the House of Commons and Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, promised extra days if they were necessary:
A spokesman for Harriet Harman, leader of the House of Commons, said the 128 figure did not include parliamentary days that would be scheduled for November 2009 when the government would have a clearer idea of outstanding business after next autumn’s conference season.
Perhaps La Harman should bring Lord Mandelbrot inside the loop. Or perhaps vice-versa?
Somebody (as Mr Brown did with the MP expenses issues) will try to make this a “House of Commons” responsibilty or “System” problem, with the implication that it is “nothing to do with us, Guvnor”. It is neither. The fact is that the Parliamentary and legislative programme is defined by Government.
Wrapping Up
I stated that men lose their hair as they get older. Lord Mandelson’s smokescreens have reached the combover stage.
Categories: All WW, Comment, Humour, Knockabout, Labour, Miscellaneous, Political Blogging, Politics
