| Topic: | Re:What Lord Turnbull said about Gordon Brown in His Financial Times interview | |
| Posted by: | David Giles | |
| Date/Time: | 13/06/07 12:32:00 |
| The original interview appeared in the Financial Times on 20th March 2007 'Stalinist' Brown, by ex-cabinet secretary By Nicholas Timmins,Public Policy Editor Published: March 20 2007 02:00 The story read in part : "Gordon Brown has exhibited a "Stalinist ruthlessness" in government, belittling his cabinet colleagues whom the Treasury treats with "more or less complete contempt", according to the man who was Britain's top civil servant until two years ago. In an interview with the Financial Times, Lord Turnbull, permanent secretary to the Treasury for four years under Mr Brown before becoming cabinet secretary in 2002, accused the prime minister-in-waiting of a "very cynical view of mankind and his colleagues". "He cannot allow them any serious discussion about priorities. His view is that it is just not worth it and 'they will get what I decide'. And that is a very insulting process," Lord Turnbull said. "Do those ends justify the means? It has enhanced Treasury control, but at the expense of any government cohesion and any assessment of strategy. You can choose whether you are impressed or depressed by that, but you cannot help admire the sheer Stalinist ruthlessness of it all." The former cabinet secretary, now an adviser to Booz, Allen Hamilton, also questioned the Treasury's use of "celebrity reviews" into policy issues such as those involving Paul Myners, Derek Wanless and Sandy Leitch. "This has been an unworthy development in the sense that it belittles other ministers. The surprising thing about the Treasury is the more or less complete contempt with which other colleagues are held. So if you want something done about planning, or about the environment, you don't talk to Ruth Kelly or David Miliband and say 'we really must do something about this'. Instead you summon up Kate Barker, or you get Andrew Gowers in to do intellectual property, rather than talk to the DTI." In some areas, Lord Turnbull said, the Treasury had become itself the policymaker and guardian over a set of policies such as tax credits. The chancellor, he said, had kept control of those budgets "entirely to himself". "That has been impressive, but in a sense reprehensible. There has been an absolute ruthlessness with which Gordon has played the denial of information as an instrument of power." Departments learned only just before Budgets "this is what you are getting and here are your public service agreements". Is Gordon Brown fit to be Prime Minister of a democracy ? |