Financially Transparent Government

Tories want spending put online

The Conservatives want to allow taxpayers to go online and find out how their money is being spent.
Shadow chancellor George Osborne is publishing legislation requiring the Treasury to set up a website revealing all expenditure over £25,000.
He will challenge the government to back the bill, to be presented to the House of Lords by Christmas.

"For too long, government spending has been shrouded in Whitehall secrecy," Mr Osborne said.
The only exemptions would be spending related to national security or that which concerns personal matters covered by the Data Protection Act.

This sounds rather interesting, I think everyone would agree to support a more open and transparent Government, well apart from the Government that is…

After all it would be nice to know in more detail what Government funds, I mean tax payers money gets spent on.
The proposal includes revealing only expenditure over £25,000 which would cut out the more insignificant expenditure, well insignificant on the State scale, not so insignificant to the individual tax payer.

At least we'd see a cap on bribes at £24,999

Originally posted by UK Wizard
At least we'd see a cap on bribes at £24,999

They'd probably just give a series of £24,999.99 bribes until they make up the desired amount. Or claim bribery falls under the Data Protection Act. Or that it's a matter of national security

Seriously, though, this does sound an interesting proposal. I'm not too keen on George Osborne, but I think that it would be a good idea for the Government to adopt this, or at least go into much more depth about how taxpayer's money is spent (aside from the simplistic pie chart which talks in vague terms about 'defence', 'health' and so on and in billions of pounds). I'm sure a lot of statistics are out there already, but cutting out the bureaucracy and having them in a centralised, easy-to-access location so that everyone can take a look can only be a good thing.

It's typical Cameron.

Mom and apple pie.

Who could possibly be against "more open and transparent Government"?

Of course as is sadly all too typical of Cameron's attempts at a headline grab as it does tend to ignore those inconvenient facts that tend to crop up and get in the way.

Facts like that we in the UK already have an independent National Audit Office which examines and publishes highly respected and detailed accounts (approx 60 reports per year) on Gov departments & those semi-autonomous agencies and their finances.

But who's interested in boring old facts like that, huh?
For those who imagine nothing but "bribes" and umteen Gov depts all living it up on the taxpayer this kind of thing is adored.
Never mind the reality, opposition by manipulation and exploitation of people's ignorance......and some folks wish to cheer that on?

Let's not pretend it is anything serious, it is not. It is contemptible and typical of the arrogant condescension these people hold for the general public.

If it were serious Cameron and the boy Osbourne would be making substantive, proper and sober formal proposals about improving the NAO and not looking for their rather weak and absolutely 'to type' shallow headlines, as per.

But then since when did actual substance and Cameron ever go together?

They say we get the Gov we deserve but with folks cheering this kind of garbage on it's also quite apparent we also get the lame opposition we deserve too, hmmmm?

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey
It's typical Cameron.

As opposed to spin a' merry go 'round Blair

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey
Facts like that we in the UK already have an independent National Audit Office which examines and publishes highly respected and detailed accounts (approx 60 reports per year) on Gov departments & those semi-autonomous agencies and their finances.

Well as I see it this proposal is simply a much more detailed version of the reports the NAO puts out, and as you said who can be against the principle of more open and transparent Government.

Originally posted by sminkeypinkey
Never mind the reality, opposition by manipulation and exploitation of people's ignorance......and some folks wish to cheer that on?

Manipulation and exploitation of people's ignorance is not limited to the Tories, the current Government uses it just as much.

Originally posted by UK Wizard
Well as I see it this proposal is simply a much more detailed version of the reports the NAO puts out

- Except that you'd never know that from what the tory party actually said, right?

Where do they recognise the work of or even mention the existence of the NAO?

Cameron has recently been claiming to 'support the public sector' so how come the utter silence about the NAO (an independent but nevertheless 'public body')?

.....and if it is merely a matter of judgement regarding 'better' accounting why didn't they just say that instead of implying that proper accounts needed to be kept and that there was very important information being denied to the taxpayer?

The truth is this is a prime example of them blatantly attempting to capitalise on people's ignorance for narrow party-political gain.

Instead of making claims about how you think 'everyone else does it, so it's ok' I think 'we' ought to call it for the shameless, insulting, trashy and ugly condescending politics that it so clearly is.

Do you honestly think that sort of nonsense is really something 'we' ought to be just accepting?

They are doing nothing less than attempting to make extremely unwise political capital by undermining a highly respected, autonomous and completely non party-political part of Gov.....narrow party interest before country, that is what this amounts to.

An honest difference in policy is one thing but this is just cheap, nasty and baseless innuendo.......and by abusing the rtruth like this and helping destroy just a little more of the public's confidence in the proper 'a-political' machinery of Gov it's a highly risky 'strategy' too.

This might be more acceptable had they complained about the quality of the audits or sought some improved methods but no, that would be admitting there actually is proper accounting (it would also involve detail and mentioning accountancy - that's far too 'high brow') and it's way too boring to dilute the 'message' by getting into the serious business of governance.
That is not the Cameron/Osbourne style at all.

Far better to throw around idiotic and vague shallow accusations that there is no proper control or financial scrutiny/accountancy and just attempt to exploit that, right?

What it really boils down to is this, they're taking the pi*s out of us and you're wanting to applaud them for it.

Manipulation and exploitation of people's ignorance is not limited to the Tories, the current Government uses it just as much.

- Well even if you believe that to be so it is hardly 'on topic' and relevant to the specifics of the issue you have raised.

It's a pretty weak defense to get caught out doing something as sad as this little episode is and then just attempt to excuse it with a 'I'm happy to slam the side I don't like when I think they're doing that but when it's my preferred side doing the same thing then that is ok by me'.

[edit on 17-11-2006 by sminkeypinkey]