Tuesday, November 21, 2006
The Bloated Cost of John Prescott's 'Vanity Politics'
No one really knows what John Prescott does anymore. He may be called the Deputy Prime Minister, but it's difficult to see what he's actually for. However, despite that, figures out today reveal that he's costing you, the British taxpayer close on £2 million a year. It funds the worst kind of 'vanity politics'. Why do I call it 'vanity politics'? Well, if you pay for a book to be published yourself it's called vanity publishing. Creating your own government department merely to cling on to the last remnants of an abused patronage is its political equivalent. The tyragedy is, that Prescott should have been remaindered months ago.
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30 comments:
He's only been in his new position (ie, unencumbered by Department) for six months. How can he have cost us £2m per year on this basis?
I suppose this figure takes into account Nov 05-May 05, when he had what is now effectively the DCLG under his control?
If this is the case - and I'm no Prezza cheerleader - your story is a tad unfair. If not, I stand corrected.
£2 Million quid. Small change! If you want an example of vanity politics what about the London Olympics now estimated at £3.3Billion (excluding a number of juicily expensive items like er, security...so 3.3Billion yeah right...I bet it will be close to £10Billion with this governments usual effective budget management).
I wish the French had won.
No Iain, he should have been pulped. Remainders have some residual value to someone.
Nobody EVER knew what he did, Iain. But he is cheaper now and probably doing less damage.
If ever anyone knew where the bodies were buried, it's this oxygen thief.
He's got something dirty on Blair! He must have. How else could a serving cabinet minister could get away with punching a member of the hoi polloy, rogering several ugly women, AND been utterly incompetent?
A putrid man in a foetid administration.
I find this lack of respect for the Fat Controller quite deplorable.
Nor should it be necessary to point out that every day that That Great Politician remains in office represents another day's delay to the appearance of the least-eagerly-awaited political memoirs of the Modern Era.
2:20pm Bryan "... But he is cheaper now and probably doing less damage"
Dear Bryan - Gut gesagt [well said]
To keep Senor Pre$$$cott away from "improving" the UK, shouldn't we find a Project requiring him to go on a long fact-finding mission "Beyond the Seas" (albeit at some distance away from the political embarrassments of Mr Anschultz's ranch in Texas)
My Suggestion would be as Patron of "Save the Tree Octopus" of the North West Canadian Rain Forest
The formerly large herds of this attractive, but tasty Mollusc have been decimated by fierce sushi-seeking Predators, seeking an alternative to Canadian Spam
GE
Seems like good old ten shags, two jags and three homes is not just a waste of space after all.
Even if someone exploded a firework up his arse he would probably end up better off!
A sinecure would be the old word I suppose. I must say i wonder what he would say if Blair dumped him. Blair seems to care about his legacy
gag
I think Sir Slug would be a great choice for Ambassador to Antarctica.
But £2 million seem terribly cheap when compared with the £6 million we're paying Jonathan Ross. Prescott gives me far more belly laughs for every penny I pay.
Many thanks, GE. Your plan sounds eminently sound but for the fact that JP might find he also likes the taste of the octopus in question. He may, in short, eat that which he has been sent to save. The man in full really.
That's one book I wouldn't wipe my arse on.
He seems to be keeping his head down, between who's thighs is a question that needs to be asked
'
4:29pm 2br02b "... Sir Slug ... great choice for Ambassador to Antarctica"
Idea has potential, especially if Antarctica is a Non-Extradition state - does Senor Pre$$$cot have a taste for ppPpenguins
... but Antarctica has no trees & no tree octopodia with Ecology-friendly photo-opportunities, as they swing through the branches
whilst the Canada does have hungry Polar Bears ... who knows who would do the eating
Your obedient servant etc
G E
Not much compared to the new projected London Olympics charge of £168 for every person in Britain. He's excellent value! The Tories now need to commit to cancelling the bloated Olympic$ or at least reducing the expenditure. Where does all this money go - direct to construction companies. Apparently the latest is that virtually all of Britain's charities face three to five years of penury now as their lottery funds get removed.
What does the govt as a whole do to justify its wage bill? Think about it. The brothels of Brussels run an increasing amount of our affairs, and then there are the devolved govts running things to their neck of the woods. Yet there are a record number of people on the UK ministerial payroll? What are these people doing, apart from a crap job that is?
Can't help but feel that the Tories are being a bit hypocritical vis a vis Prescott. He has committee and overseas responsibilities...
This might not sound like much, but John Major admits in his book that he made Michael Heseltine DPM purely for his skills in the media in the run up to the General Election.
It works both ways, and noone is pretending that Prescott is spending taxpayers money in a purely campaigning role, a'la Tarzan..
Verity I am no Dr Masters but incline to the view that a jolly rogering delivered with vigour and strength may yet have shortcomings if the organ that penetrates is a mere 2cm in length. Ask Tracey.
griswold, if you thought you were responding to the real Verity, you are a fool. And an over-eager fool, at that.
I have written to Iain alerting him to the presence of this imposter's gross, hate-laden posts. This imposter has not only caused me other inconvenience, but was dumb enough to leave his footprint. I've got a very clever techie, so I know who he is.
John Major admits in his book that he made Michael Heseltine DPM purely for his skills in the media
If that's why TB chose The Slug, TB's even more out of touch than he already seemed.
Come off it Anon 7:28. Hezza has some communication skills - you may have noticed the odd speech over the years? But Prezza? His preferred means of communication, when its not physical, is gibberish. Hezza's appointment was justified. Prezza's not. There's simply no beginning to the man's talents. He's a squawking, walking arsehat.
In case I am being unfair would anyone like to suggest what his legacy might be? Bet you can't think of a single good thing he has done in nearly ten years in office. And while you're at it compare his achievements to another Labour politician such as Ernie Bevin.
Our taxes are paying for this living study in failure.
Iain, please no more. If you do keep carping on about this, there is a severe danger Bliar will find him a job to keep him occupied.
Maybe the increasingly irrelevant [post-devolution] Welsh Secretary role currently being job shared by the soon-to-be-discredited Peter Hain..
The Real Verity - get off your high horse. I responded to verity whoever that may be. I am sure all the other posters on this site are reassured the post was not yours - the Real Verity. Lighten up.
Virtual Verity - my point still stands. Chipolatas are not very satisfying one way or the other.
ABB: Yep you said it about the Olympics. I was particularily underimpressed by Linford Christy saying that the costs was "a small price to pay". I was so enraged I wrote a post on it.
7:12 Griswold "... Virtual Verity"
Pseudo-Verity would seem more appropriate for the author of such vacuous comments
griswold said...
"The Real Verity - get off your high horse."
No. I like it up here.
Google 'fuckwit', try 'I'm feelin lucky'.
Jim The Chimp - We should let the Japanese harpoon him as they are smaller than Norwegians and he would feed more people. In fact, he could keep a sushi bar going for a month to six weeks.
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