Peter Cuthbertson: A Britain less at ease with itself

Peter lives in Washington D.C. and writes regularly on politics and foreign affairs.

Just before Christmas, Matthew Parris chose to devote his Times column to the "one good thing" he had to say about Tony Blair:

"Mr Blair will leave a happier country than he found. Something tolerant, something amiable, something humorous, some lightness of spirit ... a changed, kinder, gentler Britain."

It would be unfair to claim Blair has done his country no good, and I could list more than one example of positive effects of his ten year premiership and thirteen years as Labour leader. But none of them would include the national mood, the climate of opinion he has bequeathed his successors that goes beyond policy details and tax rates. On these measures, Blair's Britain is less British, less tolerant, less free and less at ease with itself than the Britain of a decade ago.

The clearest evidence of this is seen in small cases which directly affect few, but which represent the climate in which everyone lives. John Humphries' book Devil's Advocate includes a vivid recollection of the climate of opinion at the time of Princess Diana's death: flamboyant public grief from countless Britons who knew the deceased only from television, and a fierce intolerance for those less moved. Humphries noted that in those weeks people who simply did not grieve for a stranger had a whiff of what life is like in a totalitarian society where no diversity of opinion is permitted. The Diana hysteria has passed, but in far more serious areas, that little whiff of totalitarianism is now a regular part of life.

Peter Cuthbertson: 20,000 different ways to waste £767 million

Peter Cuthbertson is a Research Fellow of The TaxPayers’ Alliance and author of the Annual Non-Job Report 2006

Here are a few short phrases, next time you need examples of government waste:

• “Southall Black Sisters require an Asian woman”
• “Head of Achievement and Inclusion”
• “Deputy Youth Offending Team Manager”
• “… particularly welcome applications from lesbian, bisexual and trans women”
• “Diversity Programme Manager, Children’s Services”
• “Community Opportunities Support Manager”
• “Stop Smoking Community Worker”
• “Civil Resilience Manager”
• “Bike It Officer”

That’s right: I can only be quoting from the Guardian’s notorious Society section, the paper’s thick and heavy two-part (three-part including Society Scotland) Wednesday recruitment supplement.