Cameron declares war on the "enemies of enterprise"
He should remember that he's the public-sector workers' Prime Minister, too.
By David Blanchflower Published 06 March 2011 18:34
"We are the party of enterprise," said David Cameron in his Cardiff speech. Well, that's fine and dandy. The problem is that he then foolishly declared open season on the "enemies of enterprise". This seems to be pointed directly at the six million people employed in the public sector -- or nearly 21 per cent of total employment who are doing the nation's work. And they are all voters. It's unclear why he would want to upset them even further just as the austerity measures -- ie unemployment -- are about to hit the public sector.
So I can announce today that we are taking on the enemies of enterprise.The bureaucrats in government departments who concoct those ridiculous rules and regulations that make life impossible, particularly for small firms. The town hall officials who take forever with those planning decisions that can be make or break for a business -- and the investment and jobs that go with it.The public-sector procurement managers who think that the answer to everything is a big contract with a big business and who shut out millions of Britain's small and medium-sized companies from a massive potential market.
So, let's get a few things straight here. First, the financial crisis was caused by failures in the private sector that the public sector had to rescue. RBS and Lloyds were moved from the private sector and are now in the public sector. Second, spending cuts that reduce local authority budgets are probably going to increase the amount of time that it takes to deal with planning applications. The procurement officers, also faced with spending cuts, will try to buy goods as cheaply as possible, which will often mean in bulk from one large supplier. Now, Dave is telling them to spend more and buy the goods from lots of small suppliers. Isn't the coalition supposed to be making efficiency savings? Now, he wants a reduction in the size of such savings. Idiotic.
Third, there are not millions of small to medium-sized companies being squeezed out by bureaucracy. According to the Department of Business Innovation and Skills estimates for 2009, there were only 1.2 million enterprises with any employees at all in total in the UK. So that claim simply is not true. Fourth, despite Cameron's claims that it is a good idea to give money to the unemployed to set up a business, academic literature suggests that there is little evidence that such programmes work. They do not seem to be good value for money. There is a large, deadweight loss in such schemes, which means many of the successful firms would have been successful anyway. Interestingly, the scale of a deadweight loss was exactly the argument the government used for the abolition of the Future of Jobs Fund. One rule for business and another rule for the young.
Fifth, there is also little evidence that countries with higher self-employment rates are more successful on any outcome measure. The problem with self-employment is that failure rates are high and for most self-employed people, incomes are low. Indeed, many have negative incomes as they make a loss. So, unlike bankers, they do have pay for performance and, when things go wrong, they make losses. For many, a business failure is devastating, as they have pooled rather than diversified their assets. It often involves loss of business, job, savings, pension, home and sometimes even marriage. For most people, becoming self-employed is a bad idea. Plus, governments are very bad at picking winners.
Finally, there are around six million workers today employed in the public sector, which, since December 2008, includes both RBS and Lloyds. Of these, nearly 60 per cent are union members. Hard to think they will sit idly by in the face of such attacks. You can't legislate good industrial relations; a disenchanted worker can always drop a spanner into the works. Dave's remarks are unlikely to motivate public-sector workers arriving at work on Monday. He doesn't seem to understand that he is everyone's Prime Minister. No wonder the coalition's poll ratings are falling.
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43 comments
Hi Ang, what's the problem with a private sector boom? Someone's got to create wealth if you want to distribute it.
Someone has to stop this lunatic - he is way way out of his depth and getting dangerous. He declares war only on those who don't see things as they do in the millionaire club.
Local Enterprise Partnerships are a complete recipe for disaster; lack of regulation means that more and more millionaires will in effect become mini-governments at local level with no boundaries as to what they can and will do. It's got sod all to do with giving people in the community any say, only those in control of the money will have the last word.
Mind you on the plus side; with all this de-centralisation it shouldn't be long before everyone realises Cameron is just being paid to stand around and talk utter drivel.
The only reason Cameron hates regulation is because he thinks he's above the law - he has to go.
Cameron has certainly stifled your economic ability "call me Dave".
Looks like your thread has been hijacked by small businessmen and a youtube addict.
Whatever happened to that nice green tree logo the Tories used to have in opposition?
The funny thing is you voted for that lot.
The thing with politics is people think they vote a bad lot out and I better lot in.
Once election is over they discover that the new lot are just as bad as the previous lot.
That is the outcome when you vote for politicians. No matter what you vote for you always get politicians.
It is also called democracy.
People think they have power until after the election they realize they have only an illusion of power.
The other thing with democracy is that people think they have the freedom to choose. Only afterwards they discover they have been conned again. The only thing that they chose is the different con artists.
Difference between dictatorship and democracy.
Dictatorship, you are told to shut up and do what you are told.
Democracy, you are allowed to complain a bit and then you are told to shut up and do what you are told.
A marginal difference if you think complaining is much to show for.
Local Enterprise Partnerships are a complete recipe for disaster; lack of regulation means that more and more millionaires will in effect become mini-governments at local level with no boundaries as to what they can and will do. It's got sod all to do with giving people in the community any say, only those in control of the money will have the last word.
http://www.diyhomeprojects.org/
The Bankers are the enemy within not the workers. Mr Posh and his mates are buggering up our country
The bankers are the enemy within. Not workers. does Mr Posh want us all on a cup of rice a day so enterprise can flourish. There is no doubt he would have been in favor of kids up chimney's
ET: You sound like you're stuck in the 80s. Oh what a great time it was, especially all the 80s, the early, the late, the mid. I love the music as well. Sometimes I cry when I think about about how beautiful it was. But that was my twenties. It was punk , no socialists, no tories, no nobody. It was me.
Why are you so hung up on the Tories ET? Why don't you just leave everything?
ET: You sound like you're stuck in the 80s. Oh what a great time it was, especially all the 80s, the early, the late, the mid. I love the music as well. Sometimes I cry when I think about how beautiful it was. But that was my twenties. It was punk, no socialists, no tories, no nobody. It was me.
Why are you so hung up on the Tories ET? Why don't you just leave everything?
Cameron is a man with some good but disconnected ideas and no coherent strategy - i.e. a gifted amateur. Unfortunately, like most governments, this one will handicap the improvements of the living standards of most Brits.
Alex Weir, London and Harare
Last Sunday, Prime Minister David Cameron give an outstanding speech!
I'm a big fan of the Prime Minister David Cameron!
Our Country is very lucky to have the Best Prime Minister in British Political History!
Oh come now Reginald, what about Maggie, surely she's the best ever.
Reflecting on recent political & media attention on the Public Sector, it occcured to me that there has been too much simplification, glossing over complexity & context,just to score political points.
Reflection prompted my latest blog on the subject
http://wp.me/p1m0kg-5M
Cameron hasn't got a clue 'how' to create jobs, he believes his words are enough to rally people, to create the private sector boom he craves.
This latest sound-bite has been invented as a get- out- clause, when it becomes clear that his experiment has failed. Then he can say 'Well if it wasn't for those pesky enemies of enterprise, the world would have been mine, all mine!!!!'
Yes, there is a large open cavity in David Cameron's head where his brains should be.
Thirty years ago his predecessor Margaret Thatcher at least had the intelligence to keep the police and the army on her side by protecting their wages, pensions and working conditions. In 2011 Gormless Dave sees no such necessity; he is cutting police numbers, pay and working conditions and the army will not be far behind. He may even achieve the virtually impossible - the police striking, as they did in 1919. What will then be left to defend the state, especially if the army is disaffected? Quite frankly if I were a banker or any other kind of parasite I would not know whether to laugh or cry.
Before David Cameron, Winston Churchill (no the bloody talking insurance dog with his silverwear) was the best Prime Minister!
I have great respect for Maggie but David Cameron is made of a different constitution! That 'Poll Tax business' was unfair and people suffered! That were I differ from Maggie!
We are talking about total Greatest, with Prime Minister David Cameron!!!
David Cameron will go down in British Political history for making Great Britain a better place to live! We just have to believe in him!
Have you noticed how Cameron targets town officials. Officials do not make decisions in local government - local politicians do. But of course Mr Cameron is not brave enough to challenge the nimby politicians of his own party who are often the real enemies of enterprise is he!
@Jim
'Have you noticed how Cameron targets town officials. Officials do not make decisions in local government - local politicians do'
That is such a good point. Well said.
Yeah, OK, but you need also to pull out of the Government's philosophy what is of value and useful - do that as well.
Excellent commentary, as usual!
Hello,
This inane nonsense is being spoken by a member of the same party that sanctioned major sell-offs of large chunks of our manufacturing industry during the reign of queen M Thatcher.
Can somebody tell me what brand of tablets he's taking?
Regards,
David Mawer
The Tories seem to have already forgotten the Efficiency Review by Sir Philip Green published in October 2010. That said:
• Basic commodities are bought at significantly different prices across
Government departments.
• Multiple contracts have been signed with some major suppliers by
different departments at different prices.
http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-library/efficiency-review-sir-p...
So Green recommends more central procurement. A supplier to the Government as a whole is unlikely to be a small one.
It sounds like his enemy is the people and his ally is the comodity called currency/money. Very aggressive responce and chap...
He doesn't seem to understand he is everyone's prime minister.
The politicians disease, seems he has it worse than most.
Cameron does not care - why should he? - he's all right jack!
It is becoming increasingly clear that the guy is way, way, way out of his depth.
And he's dragging all of us down with him.
@David Mawer 18.37
He's overdosing on the stupid pills still.
Why the use of such violent language? Wars achieve nothing bu death and destruction as shown in Iraq and most especially Afghanistan. Is this really the way to communicate in 2011?
With each day Cameron just seems to look more and more out of his depth. Ill advised trade mission around the Middle-East, ham fisted efforts in Libya, a speech like this, events seem to be going the way predicted but Labour seems unable to capitalise given Miliband's performances, sense a clock ticking on his leadership.
Cameron becomes more ever more contradictory. JamesB is spot on - massively out of his depth.
Cameron becomes ever more contradictory. JamesB is spot on - massively out of his depth.
why is brian cox introducing tonights planet of the swiss? it's not so much "enemey of enterprise" I OWN THE SOFTWARE, it's more enemy of the moron.
Historically, global evidence shows that governments actually can and do pick winners.
Just not this one.
Good grief, 'enemeies of enterprise' what sort of language is that ? What exactly is ' enterprise ' presumably he doesn't mean the Starship Enterprise, but it is one of those words that barely means anything anymore so over-used in as a floating self-justifying abstract never given context, much like ' terror ' as in the 'war on'.
Well, for as long as Labour were in power the Prime Minister wasn't everyone's Prime Minister - he was the Prime Minister of bankers, landlords and public sector workers and no-one else. Entrepreneurs were somewhat forgotten.
"But he should remember he's public sector workers' prime minister too."
More than that -he's a public sector worker himself, as are all MPs - and the royal family too, for that matter.
Dare i say we need our own revolution here and re-instate grey haired politicians. For the three most important men in the country lack this basic yet serious attire (yes William Hague is included!) I am disturbed to see such young, inexperienced and arrogant (Hague excluded )Tory boys pushing through the barrier of sense and pretending that toothfairies will put wads of money under people's pillows after they cut their jobs so that the same unemployed lot can kick start the recovery with their 'frivolous' spending so as to meet Mr Osbourne's perfectly thought out growth projections...oh boy another 4 years of nightmarish bed time stories to go...
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