You’ve done great! ps. You’re fired

Good timing and luck are everything in politics. Unfortunately for the regional development agencies, they have not been overendowed with either. They long ago shattered a lorry load of mirrors. Probably in the same vehicle that mounted a cracked pavement, then careered under a row of ladders before promptly running over a black cat.

But last week the National Audit Office gave the eight English regional development agencies outside London a glowing report.

David-Cameron-George-Osborne-smirking In its Independent Supplementary Review of Regional Development Agencies, the NAO found that six of the eight RDAs it evaluated were rated strong or good against a basket of key indicators such as their development and delivery of programmes; how they implement improvements plans; and their work on performance management and evaluation. The remaining two agencies were rated good or adequate.

The reviews focus on the strengths of the processes and procedures in each agency and provides further evidence of their efficacy; undermining the Government’s case for their wholesale dismantling. Of course, in the topsy-turvy world of the Lib-Con coalition this is akin to saying ‘congratulations! We have found you innocent – but you’re still facing the firing squad in the morning’.

In a surreal response to its own strong performance rating, Advantage West Midlands (AWM) announced that all its staff are now being invited to apply for redundancy. A curious conflation of events: you do your job well and then get axed for your troubles.

But the need for regional economic support remains compelling. As AWM’s report finds:

“In the year to April 2010, the [West Midlands] region saw the sharpest decline in output and the fastest shedding of jobs of any of the English regions. The region now has the joint-highest unemployment rate in the UK.”

What a strange way of making policy. It simply does not matter what their performance is like or what endorsements they receive, or what real need they address; the Tories simply do not like RDAs. Period.

Gone is the New Labour credo of what matters is what works, to be replaced by what-matters-is-what-we-like. This neanderthal approach to public policy exposes Cameroon pragmatism for what it is: neo-Thatcherite ideological vindictiveness.

Even more extraordinary is that this pointless upheaval is taking place at a time when economic support in the regions is needed more than ever. This is the first time in the economic cycle where the value of having regional economic champions has been really tested. So just when businesses are frantically clawing their way through the remains of the downturn and need government on their side, they are instead left with RDAs as demoralised husks where the staff that remain are focused on buffing up their CVs.

Of course, many who will leave with severance pay-offs will probably get re-employed by the various Local Economic Partnerships which are set to replace RDAs in due course. So this is not only a ludicrously, mistimed piece of economic vandalism; but a potentially lousy deal for the taxpayer as well.

And for what? Just so Eric Pickles can leave his podgy pawprints on the shape of policy? In an interview with Total Politics magazine, he claims to want to allow local authorities to put in place whatever local political management arrangements they want. But at the regional level, it seems, ideology rules.

As a footnote, it is worth pointing out that significant reports of this nature usually merit a press release from the NAO. Despite being offered the opportunity to explain this unusual omission, the NAO declined Left Foot Forward’s invitation to clarify why no release had been written. We are left to ponder as to why our independent spending watchdog seems to want to bury good news that undermines the new government’s policy on RDAs.

The plot thickens. We will be returning to the matter in due course.

http://twitter.com/montgomerychris/status/19562691656 Chris Montgomery

RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb #ConDemNation #FalseEconomy
http://www.taxpayersalliance.com Matthew Sinclair

I think you should make your status as a former head of Communications at Advantage West Midlands a little clearer in this post. It seems relevant.
http://www.shamik.co.uk Shamik Das

Matt – I think it’s clear enough. If you click on Kevin’s name at the top of the piece, you’re taken through to his bio, the first line of which says: “Kevin is a former head of communications at Advantage West Midlands”. That aside, what are your thoughts on the actual content of the article?
http://twitter.com/imchrisjohnston/status/19563211590 Chris Johnston

National Audit Office rates 6/8 RDAs outside London 'strong or good'. http://bit.ly/cUz7uH #falseeconomy
http://twitter.com/yorkierosie/status/19563467836 yorkierosie

RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb #ConDemNation #FalseEconomy
http://twitter.com/bumblebums/status/19563900274 B Bigelow

"Ideology rules" RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb #ConDemNation #FalseEconomy #ukpolitics
Anon E Mouse

Kevin Meagher – Typical sour grapes biased report from the vested interests brigade.

“Gone is the New Labour credo of what matters is what works” – are you serious?

HIP’s didn’t work but Labour still did it anyway and wrecked the housing market in one go. And what about ID Cards? How much did the British taxpayer chuck into that little venture only to have it scrapped later?

Selecting Labour leader without a leadership campaign and the subsequent installation of the same man as Prime Minister – that didn’t work and before you start dribbling in rage remember Blair said he’d serve a full third term.

The sooner these huge Labour job’s for the boys schemes are scrapped the better and as for Eric Pickles that’s called democracy Kevin, get over it or the Labour Party will never move on.

Nick Clegg’s Freedom Act can’t come soon enough and the New Labour – warmongering – pro big business – hammer the poor party can sit and watch as it’s pet projects, like these stupid regional assemblies, are dismantled one by one…
http://twitter.com/trakgalvis/status/19564938414 Trakgalvis

You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb #ConDemNation #FalseEconomy via @leftfootfwd
http://twitter.com/goodoldmj/status/19566251877 Martin Johnston

RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb #ConDemNation #FalseEconomy
http://twitter.com/ec1ecoem/status/19568934182 Emma Coften

RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb
Robert

The way this has been handled is just another brick in the wall that separates Tory govenment from good government.

Sad but not unexpected.
http://twitter.com/shodanalexm/status/19572828651 Alex Marsh

"Gone is the New Labour credo of what matters is what works, to be replaced by what-matters-is-what-we-like". Source: http://bit.ly/cFZonb
http://twitter.com/thedancingflea/status/19583686199 Claire Spencer

Great @leftfootfwd post on the scrappage of quality RDAs http://bit.ly/945fmB & @dgbailey's on making the most of LEPs http://bit.ly/bJU4Gy
http://twitter.com/alanmck/status/19584601552 Alan McKechan

RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb #ConDemNation #FalseEconomy >Shame after all SWRDA did on Portland
Chris

@Anon

“Nick Clegg’s Freedom Act can’t come soon enough and the New Labour – warmongering – pro big business – hammer the poor party can sit and watch as it’s pet projects, like these stupid regional assemblies, are dismantled one by one…”

Are you on crack? Or are you the LibDem version of the twat-o-tron?

The LibCons budget hammered the poor and rewarded big business, the fucking brass neck of you LibDems is amazing, the LibDems are becoming just another astroturfing tory front.
Anon E Mouse

Chris – Which part of my “New Labour – warmongering – pro big business – hammer the poor party” was incorrect?

1. “Warmongering” – Iraq, Afganistan…
2. “Pro big business” – The bankers STILL got their bonuses…
3. “Hammer the poor” – The removal of the 10p tax band, proposed increase in NI…

The coalition has introduced a bankers tax, increased the personal allowance of ordinary workers and stopped Labour’s jobs tax…

This is supposed to be an evidence based blog Chris not one set up for your (foul mouthed) opinions.

So where’s your evidence for your above comments about me?
Anon E Mouse

Chris – What’s a twat-o-tron btw?
http://twitter.com/pcs_gonw_branch/status/19592764982 PCS GONW Branch

RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb #ConDemNation #FalseEconomy
http://twitter.com/humphriesjohn/status/19597776326 John Humphries

RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/cFZonb #ConDemNation #FalseEconomy
Sevillista

@mattsinclair

Just like the TPA declares a list of its financial backers to make its vested interests transparent in any article you pen, right?

The logical conclusion must be that your organisation should be ignored as a vehicle for a tiny number of very wealthy people, many of whom do not actually pay tax in this country
http://twitter.com/creativegeek/status/19666708797 Robster

RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/945fmB
http://twitter.com/jruddy99/status/19674275236 John Ruddy

Pickles wants Localism, as long as they do what he wants RT @leftfootfwd: You've done great! ps. You're fired http://bit.ly/945fmB
http://www.leftfootforward.org/2010/08/more-woe-for-clegg-as-ed-miliband-slams-coalitions-100-day-record/ More woe for Clegg as Ed Miliband slams Coalition’s 100-day record | Left Foot Forward

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