Tuesday, May 14, 2024
Tories launch new war on woke
It really is getting to the point where desperate Tories are having to resort to culture wars in a bid to be heard even though all the evidence shows that none of that nonsense is winning them votes.
On the front line is the so-called minister for common sense, Esther McVey who, according to the Guardian, has said that she will crack down on diversity initiatives in the civil service, including banning the wearing of rainbow lanyards:
McVey, who was appointed to Rishi Sunak’s cabinet as a minister without portfolio, said civil servants should be leaving their political views “at the building entrance” and that there should not be a “random pick and mix” of causes on security lanyards.
“They should be a standard design reflecting that we are all members of the government delivering for the citizens of the UK,” she said in a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies. “We need to stop the inappropriate back-door politicisation of the civil service, which diverts time and resources from that focus on the public.
“We have too often seen them distracted by fashionable hobbyhorses. Especially when it comes to issues like equality and diversity. People want the public servants to be getting on with the job of making their lives better, not engaging in endless internal discussions about ideology, and I’m not prepared to see pointless job creation schemes for the politically correct.”
McVey said the government would no longer offer contracts for external diversity spending unless they were signed off by a government minister, including those with current contracts, such as Stonewall.
The minister said she aimed to abolish civil service networks for staff, such as those for Muslim staff or LGBTQ+ civil servants. The Civil Service Muslim Network has been suspended after reports that speakers at its events had encouraged officials to lobby ministers over the Gaza conflict.
Ironically of course, this so-called initiative comes on the back of the announcement by Chancellor of the Excehequer, Jeremy Hunt that 66,000 civil service jobs will be axed by March 2025. Will it be last in, first out or will they be targeting the woke employees first?
Quite how any of this will help people get their passport or driving licence quicker is unclear, as is the initiative's impact on the millions waiting for operations with the NHS, the crisis is higher education funding caused by the government's clampdown on overseas student visas, high interest rates, soaring food bills and high energy costs.
These are the issues that the public really care about, on which, this Tory Government has nothing to offer them.
On the front line is the so-called minister for common sense, Esther McVey who, according to the Guardian, has said that she will crack down on diversity initiatives in the civil service, including banning the wearing of rainbow lanyards:
McVey, who was appointed to Rishi Sunak’s cabinet as a minister without portfolio, said civil servants should be leaving their political views “at the building entrance” and that there should not be a “random pick and mix” of causes on security lanyards.
“They should be a standard design reflecting that we are all members of the government delivering for the citizens of the UK,” she said in a speech to the Centre for Policy Studies. “We need to stop the inappropriate back-door politicisation of the civil service, which diverts time and resources from that focus on the public.
“We have too often seen them distracted by fashionable hobbyhorses. Especially when it comes to issues like equality and diversity. People want the public servants to be getting on with the job of making their lives better, not engaging in endless internal discussions about ideology, and I’m not prepared to see pointless job creation schemes for the politically correct.”
McVey said the government would no longer offer contracts for external diversity spending unless they were signed off by a government minister, including those with current contracts, such as Stonewall.
The minister said she aimed to abolish civil service networks for staff, such as those for Muslim staff or LGBTQ+ civil servants. The Civil Service Muslim Network has been suspended after reports that speakers at its events had encouraged officials to lobby ministers over the Gaza conflict.
Ironically of course, this so-called initiative comes on the back of the announcement by Chancellor of the Excehequer, Jeremy Hunt that 66,000 civil service jobs will be axed by March 2025. Will it be last in, first out or will they be targeting the woke employees first?
Quite how any of this will help people get their passport or driving licence quicker is unclear, as is the initiative's impact on the millions waiting for operations with the NHS, the crisis is higher education funding caused by the government's clampdown on overseas student visas, high interest rates, soaring food bills and high energy costs.
These are the issues that the public really care about, on which, this Tory Government has nothing to offer them.
