LET'S MOVE ON

We have a very strange situation in the United Kingdom. We have the appearance of leadership in Government. That is to say, we have a Government, but we have no leader.

 

Things get done because of the Civil Service. That is to say the people who actually serve, who put into practice those things that need to be done. Some with greater or lesser efficiency. Government Minister, who allegedly come up with policy and award contracts where necessary, are less then efficient, such as awarding a shipping contract to a company that has no ships or track record of shipping. This is just an example. Ordering personal protection equipment that doesn’t actually work, is another. Be that as it may, we struggle along, comforted in the knowledge that there is a group of people working behind the scenes, actually doing the work, and keeping things going, with greater or lesser efficiency.

Government ministers, who are meant to direct this group of people, are ever changing, as are the policies and programs they seek to implement. So Civil Servants must be extremely flexible and cooperative towards their different and ever-changing ministers, as well as letting ministers have the benefit of their advice as to the best way to get those policies and programs implemented, with greater or lesser efficiency. That relationship was so brilliantly portrayed on television by the sit-com Yes Minister. In order for this relationship to happen with greater or lesser efficiency, a “Code of Conduct” was devised to define how the relationship between the Civil Servants and their Ministers would function. Because of the difficult nature of sometimes frequent and rapid changes in policy and programs, there is inevitably a high level of stress and anxiety in the offices and corridors of the workplace.

 

Ministers, who are merely temporary, but with a job to do, are even more stressed because they have to try to get done things, that may be quite challenging, in what they perceive as the very short time they are in the job. They want to be seen as being active with great efficiency, and so feel they must push the people who actually do things, to do the things they want done as soon as possible, Hence, the code of conduct, to regulate the stress levels.

 

The long and short of it is, that if Ministers cannot cope with the stress levels, they should not be Ministers. We, unfortunately have just such a Minister at the Home Office. Ms. Priti Patel. She has been found wanting, and very much in breach of the Code of Conduct. She has repeatedly been accused of bullying staff, and her behaviour has been found to be just that, although it might have been unintentional. She added that there were difficulties because some civil servants had been un-cooperative. She has profusely apologised, and claimed that if she has caused distress it was entirely unintentional.  It is clear, however, that she had been warned on several occasions that she must not treat her staff in ‘that manner’, or speak to them in ‘that way’. Despite this, she claims it was unintentional, which clearly indicates that she is not able to control herself, and will more than likely carry on behaving exactly as she has before the enquiry. The stress is obviously too much for her to deal with her own behaviour.

 

She should have the decency to resign herself, but where the current administration is concern, the matter of integrity does not arise. Boris Johnson, our prime buffoon, stands by her. She's made an apology, and that is that. He will no longer discuss it. When asked he will just say, "That's over with, she's apologised, let's move on." That is what he does. With anything embarrassing, and clearly a mater for acting responsibly, such as with Dominic Cummings earlier this year, he employs the same tactic, "He's apologised, let's move on." He always  moves on, and he is allowed to get away with it. He has never been pushed to act with integrity. Oh well, that's just Boris. Well it isn't Just Boris, he's supposed to be a Prime Minister. If ever there was a person out of his depth, it's 'Just Boris". He is straight out of the pages of a Richmal Crompton book. All it needs is for Martin Jarvis to actually do the voice overs for Boris' speeches and we'd have the full flavour of Boris and The Outlaws

 

Violet Elizabeth Bott

So that is what I mean when I say we have a Government, but it’s really just Boris and the Outlaws with Priti Patel as Violet Elizabeth   “I'll thcream and thcream 'till I'm thick"”