Crystallising the vision

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Clive Carter on August 2, 2013 at 12:42

Chris, if with the multiple layers of safeguards you mention and with elected representatives "having almost no say" in how the money is spent (?!), then it might follow that it'd be impossible for a penny of taxes to be spent unwisely.

Conversely, council apologists seem to take it as a given, that if the council is responsible for spending any money for any purpose at all, it is perforce, money well spent. I couldn't agree with that.

I'm aware that enormous resources flow into the council, but am slightly concerned where you say that "Big chunks of it have to be spent".

This does chime with what an 'officer' of the late and unlamented Neighbourhood Management (layer of bureaucracy) informed a resident's association meeting post 2008. If the money in the budget was not spent by the end of the year, we would lose it.

It is this attitude to public money that leads to waste and poor governance.

I think the answer to your question is the culture that evolves after 40-years of a one-party state.

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Permalink Reply by Chris Setz on August 2, 2013 at 16:57

This from a previous post you made in this topic:

>>Money is being wasted 

Whilst we can exchange opinions (I've got plenty!) I'm often disappointed when you make generalised allegations - it sounds biased to me - and think that the real value of your opinion would be if it lead to an improvement in the situation.  

If, as I contend, the quality of the performance of the Council is largely vested in the unelected executive who spend most of the money on things Central Government insist on, then changes in political leadership will not be able to surmount the grip the officials have over the process. It's what Yes Minister was all about:

I guess that places in the UK that have been dominated by other parties for as long as Haringey has been Labour are no better than Haringey is, are they? Or is it that you object to any one party being re-elected time after time?

You write above that you think that they should:

>>appoint good people in positions of authority.

Of course that's what we all want but I fail to see how any change to the existing system would work in practice.  Who is to decide who gets appointed?  Where is the measure of competence - is there a list of 'good people'?  How would their conduct be judged? Would they be full-time employees or part time? Paid or unpaid?

So I ask again, what exactly can be done to improve things?

Permalink Reply by dont want to give name on August 2, 2013 at 17:23

Clive wouldn't complain if the lib dems were in power for 40 years.

Lib Dems got booted out of Islington Council recently after a short run in power... I wonder why that was? Was it because they were rubbish?

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