Pop goes the weasel @ No 10

Arturo is preparing himself for the 'big' strike next week. He's been hording chicken nuggets behind the curtains of the library. He's been collecting news cuttings about Francis Maude. I was intrigued, so I took a look at some of the cutttings.

For some weeks there have been few headlines about: 'Weasel Man' Francis Maude, Tory MP for Horsham, Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General. You must know who I mean, the 'Lord-High-Everything'. The man who is the veritable cement holding this Coalition together who '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

With so much to occupy his talent, it appears that 'Weasel Man' Maude has one prime obsession. That is the subject of Arturo's cuttings!! It is a subject that is almost certain to make Maude emulate his nickname of 'Weasel' and perform the weasel 'war dance'. All weasels are said to perform this prior to trying to catch their poor hypnotised prey. The weasel 'war dance' according to Wikipedia is 'characterized by a frenzied series of sideways hops'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weasel_war_dance

I do not think that 'Weasel Man' Maude performs a frenzied series of sideways hops everytime he sees or hears about unions. However, his response to unions elicits the political equivalent of the weasel war dance.

This is because our Francis Maude is livid with the unions. As long ago as the summer, he was hectoring about the public sector workers having 'gold-plated' pensions. Now he is positively railing against the unions who are endeavouring to protect their members' pensions. For some reason, 'Weasel Man' Maude is sent into a frenzy - never mind the 'sideways hops' - at the prospect of unions defending their member's rights. I'm sure that Freud and Jung would have found him a most interesting case for examination!

In the 'Daily Telegraph', James Kirkup and Christopher Hope wrote an article about Francis Maude entitled: Francis Maude: unions are testing my patience Francis Maude says that the unions are testing even his monumental patience .

Why are the unions testing his patience? Because they are calling a strike in defence of their members' pension rights after what 'Weasel Man' Maude considers was a more than fair offer to them.

The article states:

Put to him that he is approaching the union dispute more in sorrow than in anger, he bristles. “I am in a state of considerable irritation about it,” he declares with a razor-cut smile.

The article continues:

What will voters think of ministers who are offering striking unions a deal that Mr Maude says will still leave many public sector staff with pensions beyond the dreams of their private-sector peers?

“People will look at the offer we have made, look at the pension schemes that public sector staff will still have afterwards. I think people will say, that’s pretty bloody reasonable actually.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8917048/Francis-Maude-unions-are-testing-my-patience.html

So, 'Weasel Man' Maude has decided 'enough is enough'. He has decided that the time has come for the unions to be put in their place. This is made clear by another article in the 'Daily Telegraph' by James Kirkup and Christopher Hope entitled: We’ll rewrite law on strikes, Francis Maude warns the unions, Trade union laws could be rewritten to curb unions’ ability to hold strikes in response to next week’s “stupid and wrong” public sector walkout, Francis Maude has disclosed.

The article states:

At present, once a union has voted to strike, a walkout must be held within 28 days or a new ballot must be held. But if a strike is held, the union then has a legal “mandate” for more strikes or other action until the dispute ends. Mr Maude says the rule gives unions a “perverse incentive” to strike and should be changed.
The Coalition will consider a new legal time limit on the mandate that a union has for industrial action after a vote. The limit could be as low as three months.

Now that is a crafty move, since it would involve the unions in huge costs in order to hold more ballots. Of course one would expect nothing more nor less from a 'weasel'!

The article comments:

Each ballot costs hundreds of thousands of pounds, and ministers believe the change could be a significant obstacle to future strikes. “There is a case for change. We’ll want to look at this carefully,” Mr Maude says.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8917075/Well-rewrite-law-on-strikes-Francis-Maude-warns-the-unions.html

So - do we have a man of high principle here? A man determined to cut the country's mountain of debt, at any cost. Well - steady on there! Let's examine 'Weasel Man' Maude's own pension arrangements.

The 'Daily Mirror' have a headline: Pension-slashing minister Francis Maude could pick up £731k retirement pot written by James Lyons.

In his article he states:

THE Tory minister ruthlessly slashing the pensions of millions of public sector workers could be in line to pocket a £731,000 retirement pot.

Francis Maude, 58, is among a number of Government ministers amassing vast, taxpayer-funded nest eggs.

But while the millionaire can look forward to a potential £43,000-plus a year income in his old age, he is cutting schemes for nurses, teachers and public sector workers.

The shocking sum is almost eight times the average £5,600 civil service employee’s pot.

James Lyons continues:

MPs can grow their pension pot by up to one 40th of their final salary – currently £65,738 – each year in return for putting in 11.9% of their wage packet.

Senior ministers, who earn more, can also pay in at the same rate and receive one 40th of their total frontbench earnings on top of their Parliamentary pension.

Veteran Tory Mr Maude, who is masterminding the showdown with unions, earns about £98,700.

He will have chalked up 27 years as an MP and eight as a minister during two spells in Parliament if he keeps his job until the next election in 2015.

If he paid in at this top rate he would get a pension over £60,000, according to Unite. Payouts are limited to two-thirds of an MP’s salary but it still means he could get £43,825.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/most-popular/2011/11/22/pension-slashing-minister-francis-maude-could-pick-up-731k-retirement-pot-115875-23579471/#ixzz1epJZSAli

Now that's what I call a bit rich!! 'Weasel Man' Maude fussing over the unions attempting to maintain their members' meagre pension rights! All in the name of getting 'cuts' so that the country can reduce its debt.

I have a better idea - why not cut the pension deals of the Coalition government's pension pots - after all most of them are already millionaires!

Do you remember that nursery rhyme:

Half a pound of tuppenny rice,
Half a pound of treacle.
That’s the way the money goes,
Pop goes the weasel.

I think that our 'Weasel Man' will go 'pop' in the popularity stakes, if he goes on like this!

I found a turkey twizzler on the kitchen floor and took it to Arturo, we're hunkering down in readiness for next week.

'Bye'