I have to admit that I thought that Michael Heseltine was dead. But much to my surprise I discover that “Tarzan” is very much alive, heading up a task force established by Call Me Dave to work out how to kickstart the economy and getting it as wrong today as he has almost throughout his political career. I suppose that one should not speak ill of the brain dead but for Heseltine I can make an exception.
To be fair to the old chap he did not always get it wrong. He was a good chap at Defence during the Cold War. Anyone demonised by CND and the other “useful idiots” cannot be all bad. But afterwards it all went horribly wrong. Storming out over Westland, trying to scupper the poll tax (everyone who uses local services really should have to pay something), stabbing Margaret Thatcher in the back and a few years later doing the same to Ian Duncan Smith: this man is a serial Judas.
But he also gets the big calls wrong. Hezza was a fanatical campaigner for the Euro, warning of the dire consequences if the UK did not join. Apology? There has been none. It was his love of Europe as well as his naked ambition that drive him to play such a critical role in the putsch that ended Thatcher’s stint in office. She was right. He was wrong. It is as simple as that.
And now we come to his latest pronouncements on how Government has to create jobs. I quote:
“We need a number of significant changes to provide a stable yet flexible architecture for the future. These include: creating a National Growth Council chaired by the Prime Minister, to ensure all parts of government play their part; inviting local business partnerships to bid for significant funding from central government on a competitive basis every five years to build local economic growth; an enhanced role for chambers of commerce in helping develop the capabilities of businesses; devolving funding for the skills system to improve its alignment with the needs of local economies; injecting greater urgency into the planning system; improving public procurement by employing an experienced chief procurement officer in every department; allowing all county councils to move to unitary status; and incorporating business engagement far deeper into the school curriculum.
The drivers of our economy – business, central government and local leaders – should be organised and structured for success. I have therefore reassessed the way that we, as a country, conduct business. I’ve re-evaluated each of their roles with the single overall aim of embedding a culture of wealth creation. As the saying goes, we are all in it together.”
Hell’s teeth. Cutting to the chase Hezza reckons that creating another Government body ( The National Growth Council), hiring more Civil Servants (the procurement officers), teaching kids about business at school (forgetting that they are not being taught to read, write and count properly so cannot aim to be useful employees let alone businessmen) and handing out taxpayers dosh to “local business partnerships” is the way forward.
Governments never create jobs themselves by doing more. They create the environment for individuals to create jobs by getting off their backs. That means scrapping employment laws and other legislation that holds small businesses backs and deters us from hiring workers. That means not using Government cash to hire Civil Servants or fund Local Business Partnerships whatever they are. It means cutting employers NI contributions or scrapping them altogether as they are a tax on jobs. That means turning out 16 and 18 year olds from our crumbling schools who can read, write and do basic maths. It is all very simple.
The “drivers of the economy are not “business, central Government and local leaders.” The engine of the economy is business. The drivers are the local policians at local and national level only in the sense that they put on the brakes.
As ever Heseltine just gets it wrong. He think Government knows best and can spend other folks money best. For him – and Call Me Dave – who will lap this rubbish up, I offer a few choice quotes from Ronald Reagan who “got it”:
No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth!
Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.
Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.
Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.
The most terrifying words in the English language are: I’m from the government and I’m here to help.
Governments tend not to solve problems, only to rearrange them.
And finally…
One way to make sure crime doesn’t pay would be to let the government run it.