There are some lovely comedy moments in the Lib-Dem manifesto launched, today.
Two random examples.
Firstly, they want to abolish HEFCE, which is the body that pays out money to universities for teaching and supporting activities. Apparently, this is a grossly inefficient quango. In my day job, I deal with HEFCE quite a bit and have to say they are a model of how to get it right! There are only about three people you ever have to deal with there, because there are only about three people, and they handle a huge budget and ask for light-touch reporting that actually asks only if the job is being done that should be being done and does not look for loads of stupid measures that do not indicate anything useful (unlike the regional development agencies, for example). Per employee, it must be one of the most cost effective arms of government.
Scrapping it just sounded good.
So, too, must the idea of a "regional" points based immigration system. Under their plans, if you manage to get into the UK, you would be allocated to a region. That means that if you come to the UK without a job, you are more likely to be placed in an area that has (relatively) higher unemployment (meaning not in London or the greater South East). This means that we will add to the competition for jobs in areas where it already high and not see the labour cost benefits in areas where wages are high. Thus, all the main benefits of immigration to the UK (of which there are lots!) are negated in one crude policy move.
This was not a manifesto, it was the script for a farce, in which a group of muppets get hold of a country and mismanage it completely. Hold on... maybe that makes it a documentary of the last five years?
