Brent pioneers Government by Spiv....

[non sociopath skin]

The shape of things to come?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2009/aug/27/tory-borough-barnet-budget-airline

Wonder how many senior Tories travel by budget airline?

The Skin

[oldironside]

1. How stupid do they think we are?

I loved the bit where the council leader "denied service standards will fall under the reform programme and said by careful targeting of resources, standards could be maintained despite the expectation of deep cuts to local authority budgets in the coming years".

They clearly want a two tier society. Haves and have nots.

[T_i_B]

2. "Barnet wants householders to pay extra to jump the queue for planning consents"

Am I the only one who thinks that smacks of institutionalized bribery?

[oldironside]

3. Nice phrase.

It's obvious that the Tories measure people's value in relation to their ability to pay. What price the NHS?

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. No, you're absolutely right

and it sounds like the worst of Thatcherism is alive and well in Barnet.

[T_i_B]

5. Makes me think of certain 3rd world countries where this sort of thing is common

Of course in those cases it's called corruption.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

6. You're right. It's bribery and corruption

[TheBigotBasher]

7. Err - Barnet is not Brent.

[LeftishBrit]

8. Sounds like Thatcherism in its prime

Anyone remember Shirley Porter?

I suppose we can look forward to lots more of the same if (when) the Tories get in.

[oldironside]

9. Her defence for gerrymandering was priceless.

She couldn't face the prospect of the socialist running the borough the Queen lived in.

[T_i_B]

10. Actually, it reminds me more of the way train tickets are priced

The train companies decided to follow the low cost airlines example and as a result train fares have very complex and incomprehensible to most people (including staff at the stations). Fares did not get cheaper in the slightest as a result of this. Quite the opposite in fact.

That said, I doubt that the example of the trains is of any concern to the people who made this decision. I can well see the sort of people who decided on this course of action being the sort of people who judge the performance of a business on the end of month figures with no consideration of customer service, staff morale or any other factor.