And so it begins, Reform’s Britain

I have just read that Andrea Jenkins intends to tie up Labour in legal challenges, hopefully until the next general election.
(Independent)
Is this a good way to spend the money ?

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Ilovecheese

Just seen than Lincolnshire County Council doesn't actually have any diversity officers.

They do.
They’ve just got different titles. ‘Coaches’ is one.
There are others.

And how much do they spend on them? The estimates I've seen conclude that nationally about 1% of council budgets is spent on diversity - and that includes initiatives such as autism hubs, encouraging more females to study engineering and science and helping disabled people find work. Maybe you don't agree with those.

westendgirl

I have just read that Andrea Jenkins intends to tie up Labour in legal challenges, hopefully until the next general election.
(Independent)
Is this a good way to spend the money ?

Sounds fairly typical. Hopefully, her challenges get caught in the courts' huge backlogs and don't get heard.

www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/directory-record/80908/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei-officers-employed

Request

1: A list of all Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) officers employed by the council.

Decision

1-2. Lincolnshire County Council does not employ any Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) officers.

Here's another one:

www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/dei_costs_20/response/2956339/attach/3/25144%20FOI%20Initial%20Request%20Response.pdf?cookie_passthrough=1

The party has submitted 3,000 freedom of information requests to councils ...

www.politico.eu/article/nigel-farage-reform-uk-local-elections-populism/

Yes that isn't a stupid thing to do. That will be fascinating in Durham.

Why in Durham particularly Galaxy, is it different to the other authorities that now have Reform councils?
I’d imagine the officers are going to struggle to fulfil 3000 FOI requests, it seems an odd thing for a party which wants to reduce bureaucracy to submit that number. They must realise the impact?

I'd hazard a guess and say Darren Grimes.

Durham council is in debt but already has proposals to address this.

The total savings needed at this stage for 2025/26 to balance our budget is now estimated to be £25.6 million.

www.durham.gov.uk/article/32233/Consultation-on-updated-proposals-to-balance-the-Council-budget

Because its my council, has been run by a coalition recently, quite a lot of local unease about various projects.

Galaxy

Yes that isn't a stupid thing to do. That will be fascinating in Durham.

What will be fascinating about the FOI requests in Durham? (I assume that's what your somewhat cryptic post is about)

I imagine that many of the 3,000 FOI requests (which, from the Politico report appear to have been sent to other authorities, not just Durham) are time wasters and that the ones that aren't will throw up all sorts of things in LAs which Reform will be critical of. But if whatever they are critical of turns out to be part of the LA's statutory duties they won't be able to do a thing about it.

The question I keep asking myself is why were so many very wealthy people so keen to donate to Reform? (After all, the local election campaign and work on all these FOI requests won't have come cheaply.) I can't see it being for purely ideological or moral reasons. I suspect a belief that they expect to gain financially from Reform actions.

growstuff

Maizie I think part of the problem is that there has been so much emphasis on identity politics. The Conservatives and Reform don't care about improving public services or supporting the poor, so they've appealed to social conservatives (with a small 'c'), of whom there are many.

I don't think that 'social conservatives' are necessarily left or right wing. They just want a government to make things better for them. So they will go with the party that promises to do that. A triumph of hope over experience, I think.

Galaxy

Because its my council, has been run by a coalition recently, quite a lot of local unease about various projects.

I see, I think they will all be pretty interesting in their own way, for the people who live and work in them. A lot of people will be dreading work tomorrow I imagine.

Good job it’s Bank Holiday Monday then.

A lot of people will be dreading work tomorrow I imagine.

I think Unison will be flexing its muscles.

The question I keep asking myself is why were so many very wealthy people so keen to donate to Reform? (After all, the local election campaign and work on all these FOI requests won't have come cheaply.) I can't see it being for purely ideological or moral reasons. I suspect a belief that they expect to gain financially from Reform actions.

Who knows? Investments in fossil fuels and other vested interests. Gold? Crypto? Buying low when the stock market crashes as result of Reform fiscal policy?

Did you watch Richard Murphy’s video after Rupert Lowe presented his bill to prohibit quantitative easing?

Did you watch Richard Murphy’s video after Rupert Lowe presented his bill to prohibit quantitative easing?

I don't like videos, but he puts the transcripts on his blog. Which I read daily. 😄

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Good job it’s Bank Holiday Monday then.

unlesss you are a nurse, a traindriver, or a shop worker.

lafergar

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Good job it’s Bank Holiday Monday then.

unlesss you are a nurse, a traindriver, or a shop worker.

They are not employed by the Councils. 🤔

A carer or a refuse collector are though, for example.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Good job it’s Bank Holiday Monday then.

😁

MaizieD

growstuff

Maizie I think part of the problem is that there has been so much emphasis on identity politics. The Conservatives and Reform don't care about improving public services or supporting the poor, so they've appealed to social conservatives (with a small 'c'), of whom there are many.

I don't think that 'social conservatives' are necessarily left or right wing. They just want a government to make things better for them. So they will go with the party that promises to do that. A triumph of hope over experience, I think.

😁😖
Your last sentence resonates with me.

Casdon

A carer or a refuse collector are though, for example.

Well, I know! 😃
Just pointing out that those three examples are not employed by the LA.

I think taking pride in crushing diversity is a sad state of affairs.

Well done Allira for spotting my error.Have a nice day.

As regards diversity it feels to me like an import from the USA and Reform think it will make quick savings.

It is very ill thought out however. Quite a lot of a Diversity Officers time is spent supporting those with disabilities to get into work and stay in work. Reform are very two faced about disabilities. Just read this

"The right-wing populist party Reform UK has given a rare glimpse of its disability policies, after its leader Nigel Farage suggested he was strongly in favour of cuts to disabled people’s benefits.

The party’s supporters have attempted to make political capital in recent months by feeding off anger aimed at the Labour government’s planned cuts of billions of pounds to disability benefits.

But comments made by Farage (pictured) at a press conference late last week suggest he is himself strongly in favour of sweeping cuts to disability benefits, and that he has been poorly briefed about how the benefits and special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) systems work.

He described young disabled people who received out-of-work benefits as “victims” and claimed there was “massive” overdiagnosis of mental health conditions and “other general behavioural disabilities”.

Farage said: “I have to say, for my own money, when you get to 18 and you put somebody on a disability register, unemployed, with a high level of benefits, you’re telling people aged 18 that they’re victims.

“And if you are told you are a victim, and you think you’re a victim, you are very likely to stay as a victim.”

But then they cut chances to get into work by cutting Diversity Officers whose job is to help get back into work

quotes are from Disability News Service.