Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship

Free Market think tank Reform is very keen for the public sector to spend less. So, for example, director Andrew Haldenby has argued that there should be 300,000 fewer employees in the NHS, and one million fewer in the public sector as a whole. So if the public sector shouldn’t spend money on front line staff, what should it spend its money on? Why – free market think tank conferences, of course.

Tory-Liberal Democrat run Birmingham City Council is sponsoring Reform’s upcoming conference “Localism and the Public Services Revolution”, at the cost of £7,500.

Reform’s business model is a sound one – take sponsorship from private companies, many of whom apply for public sector contracts, and then advocate for ever greater outsourcing – for example, in the NHS. (Although how that qualifies Reform to charitable status is puzzling).

That a local authority like Birmingham, currently cutting social care, meals-on-wheels and youth centres, thinks this is the best use of taxpayers’ money seems bizarre. Despite the enthusiasm of communities and local government secretary Eric Pickles for targetted attacks on local authorities and agencies he doesn’t like, we don’t expect he’ll be using his headlining appearance at the conference to comment.

http://twitter.com/bardh_gwerin/status/75576232305111040 Tim Saunders

Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship: http://bit.ly/jQuqyV writes @DanielElton
http://twitter.com/psbook/status/75576984331227136 Political Scrapbook

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/tattymoustache/status/75577449328549888 Jade Constable

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/alexander_p_y/status/75577534246420480 Alexander Young

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/sopranosfan_/status/75577541984915456 Harry R

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/jonathand/status/75578466669572096 Jonathan Davis

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/onlyrad/status/75579057550532609 Rad

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/danielelton/status/75579071681150976 Daniel Elton

@thedancingflea FYI: http://tinyurl.com/3lm9twq
http://twitter.com/ljrm1/status/75580957066919936 Lee

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/thedancingflea/status/75581084959649792 Claire Spencer

Birmingham Council finds new & offensive ways to waste money at the expense of services: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l Good digging by @danielelton.
http://twitter.com/thedancingflea/status/75581084959649792 Claire Spencer

Birmingham Council finds new & offensive ways to waste money at the expense of services: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l Good digging by @danielelton.
http://twitter.com/textuallimits/status/75581360890322944 textuallimits

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/greenleftie/status/75581613622296576 Michael Bater

RT @leftfootfwd: Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship http://t.co/QRXo9VC
http://twitter.com/tonybraisby/status/75582321734062081 Tony Braisby

RT @leftfootfwd: Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship http://t.co/pz6Qq3f
http://twitter.com/mkhlabour/status/75582943933894657 M&KH Labour Party

Birmingham Council finds new & offensive ways to waste money at the expense of services: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l Good digging by @danielelton.
http://twitter.com/mkhlabour/status/75582943933894657 M&KH Labour Party

Birmingham Council finds new & offensive ways to waste money at the expense of services: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l Good digging by @danielelton.
http://twitter.com/martinokeeffee/status/75583733180268544 Martin O’Keeffe

@emmaboon need to look into this council http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/05/pro-cuts-think-tank-reform-takes-public-sector-sponsorship/
http://twitter.com/martinokeeffee/status/75583733180268544 Martin O’Keeffe

@emmaboon need to look into this council http://www.leftfootforward.org/2011/05/pro-cuts-think-tank-reform-takes-public-sector-sponsorship/
http://twitter.com/brumprotestor/status/75583793293041664 Brummie Protestor

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/brumprotestor/status/75583793293041664 Brummie Protestor

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/tweet4labour/status/75584356504174592 Tweet4Labour

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/tweet4labour/status/75584356504174592 Tweet4Labour

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/karenp61/status/75585803446792192 Karen Purdy

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/leigh_thompson/status/75590091430559745 Leigh Thompson

Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship: http://bit.ly/jQuqyV writes @DanielElton
http://twitter.com/nicktheowl/status/75592714430844929 Nick Drew

RT @thedancingflea: Birmingham City Council are spending the pennies wisely, I see: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l
http://twitter.com/stebax/status/75592927841226752 Steven Baxter

RT @thedancingflea: Birmingham City Council are spending the pennies wisely, I see: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l
http://twitter.com/woodo79/status/75594798031056896 Woodo

RT @thedancingflea: Birmingham City Council are spending the pennies wisely, I see: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l
http://twitter.com/brownhillsbob/status/75595120635936768 Brownhills Bob

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/gregeden/status/75596872458313728 Greg Eden

@stoneageman1 RT @thedancingflea: Birmingham City Council are spending the pennies wisely, I see: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l
http://twitter.com/njo/status/75598410446671873 NJO

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/thedrummond/status/75600287833915392 Hamish Drummond

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/illdoitanyway/status/75601488457646080 Rhiannon Lockley

Tory-Liberal Birmingham Council spends £7.5k sponsoring free market think tank (while cutting services) http://bit.ly/iQuwW4
http://twitter.com/metalsamurai/status/75607364304248832 Kevin Davidson

RT @thedancingflea: Birmingham City Council are spending the pennies wisely, I see: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l
Ed’s Talking Balls

You’re right that it seems a waste of money. There’s too much of this think tank, wonkery nonsense these days. I wish people would stop trying to overcomplicate politics and realise that it should, at its heart, be about trying to make life better.

I would point out, however, that two sentences in your first paragraph don’t follow on logically from one another. You state that Haldenby argues for job cuts in the NHS and the public sector as a whole, but your next sentence suggests that Haldenby advocates that these cutbacks should affect frontline staff.

Is that the case? Surely there must be at least one million people working in the public sector who aren’t on the frontline.
http://twitter.com/adpucci/status/75615822541897728 Pucci Dellanno

Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship: http://bit.ly/jQuqyV writes @DanielElton
http://twitter.com/vickiwhelan/status/75618165731758080 vicki whelan

RT @thedancingflea: Birmingham City Council are spending the pennies wisely, I see: http://bit.ly/jWfK4l
http://twitter.com/keirascarlett/status/75634608028401664 Keira Evans-Determan

Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship (Left Foot Forward): Tory-Lib Dem council Birmingham … http://bit.ly/isgo6X
http://twitter.com/woodymacc/status/75656780058857472 David Wood

These are a bunch of hypocrites: RT @leftfootfwd: Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship http://t.co/2EDs2uV
http://twitter.com/sc_labour/status/75666432389677056 Sutton Coldfield CLP

B'ham City Council sponsoring right wing thinktank conference. They should be spending the money on adult social care. http://t.co/EsrfTI8
http://twitter.com/morgana42/status/75679844737892352 ann morgan

RT @leftfootfwd: Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship http://t.co/sFy3fT5
http://twitter.com/man0words/status/75680618087849984 Mark Cantrell

RT @leftfootfwd: Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship http://t.co/sFy3fT5
Richard

“You’re right that it seems a waste of money.”

That’s the understatement of the week by the bollox-monger. It’s downright hypocritical!
mr. Sensible

‘Ed’s Talking Balls’, there’s been a lot oftalk from the right about how there’s so much waste in the public sector, but judging by what’s being cut you wouldn’t know.

At any rate, Daniel, you’re entirely right; Pickles seems to have a witch hunt against Labour-run Nottingham City Council, but I don’t expect this to get too much attention…
Ed’s Talking Balls

Richard,

Uncalled for. I wasn’t trying to downplay an obvious waste of money. I was agreeing with the author on that. But if you want to exchange gratuitous insults I’m sure I could do better than ‘bollox-monger’.

Mr. Sensible,

I’ve heard of, and seen first hand, public sector waste. I am adamant that the government has a duty to taxpayers to spend money confiscated from them responsibly. I would hope that no-one would disagree with that.
http://twitter.com/luna17activist/status/75717948530114560 Alex Snowdon

RT @leftfootfwd: Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship http://t.co/bdBIQgk
http://twitter.com/dachalan/status/75815439724326912 Dave Lansley

RT @leftfootfwd: Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship http://t.co/WxbqT7Z #ohtheirony #nocuts
http://twitter.com/gareth00/status/75818545077948417 Gareth Martin

RT @leftfootfwd: Pro-cuts think tank Reform takes public sector sponsorship http://t.co/N5NYXZS
Henry

Talking of govt waste and Pickles, it was interesting that the mainstream media barely covered Pickles’ purchase of a large Jaguar to replace John Denham’s £20k Prius. And then there was Clegg’s £300,000 student proof car. If these had been Labour ministers….
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