Gold-plated pensions @No 10

About a week ago, I caught sight of an article about the Weasel Man - not that that was what they called him. In the newspaper, he was just referred to as Francis Maude. I did a bit of research into this man who claims to be a veritable guru on pensions. He is Tory MP for Horsham. He is also Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General. Wow! That really sounds impressive 'Paymaster General'. What does the Paymaster General do, I wondered? In addition, this Weasel Man of many parts leads on:

Public Sector Efficiency and Reform
Office of Government Commerce
UK Statistics
Civil Service issues
Government transparency
Civil Contingencies
Cyber security
Overall responsibility for Cabinet Office policy and the Department

Not bad, eh?

So, you would expect such an impressive man to know his stuff, wouldn't you? A man who would always have the facts at his fingertips and to be fair and just. You see, in addition to having such weighty political roles, our Francis Maude has been a lawyer at the criminal bar!!!!

I urge you to listen to the Today Programme interview on Radio 4 on 30 June 2011! Evan Davis' questioning exposed the lack of facts behind Francis Maude's assertions. Even Mark Serwotka seemed surprised! Francis Maude was not the man his CV would lead you to assume him to be!

However, people do not always behave in the way you would expect - Oh No! And Weasel Man, Francis Maude, is one such man. He is utterly determined to stop the 'perks' of civil servants! He has pledged to end the 'archaic' Whitehall job terms. What angers him is the fact that a sick civil servant gets six months on full-pay and six months on half-pay. It has driven him to near frenzy! He thinks it unfair and wrong. The fact is, very few civil servants get a halfway decent salary anyway! But, he claims that it costs the country £300m a year.

He did not discuss the fact that for just 15 years' work a particular group of civil servants could build up a pension of £24,000. In fact, Francis Maude is himself a member of this group of workers. Yes! He is a full card carrying Member of Parliament! In addition, he was not averse to claiming full MP's expenses on accommodation in London - when he already owns a London house! So - who's a gold-plated fellow, then?

Strange, isn't it, that this man jeers and sneers at union leaders fighting for the rights of their members. He calls Bob Crow, leader of the RMT rail union, ‘very much old-style’. He isn't sure how to handle Mark Serwotka, Leader of the PCS Union, saying he is disappointed with his ‘avowed political agenda’ - namely strike action.

The battle lines have been drawn: Fighting Weasel Man, Francis Maude, in the Blue corner with the public sector fighters being painted Red in the opposing corner.

I'm not sure who won Round 1. I guess Round 2 will be on us soon enough! You, the public, are the Referee. As a mere cat, I just watch through the ropes and sit firmly on my tail.

'Bye'