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I detest my cynicism that immediately made me roll my eyes and remember that there's an election coming up, and the opposition party is making big economic grow

I detest my cynicism that immediately made me roll my eyes and remember that there's an election coming up, and the opposition party is making big economic growth promises. So this is very timely for the incumbent government. The ONS ought to be above political motivation and is, I believe, not politically controlled, so I doubt that cynical take would really explain the facts.

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dazc 3y ago
A friend of mine works for the ONS and the notion that anyone within the entire organization would lift a finger to help the incumbent Govt is laughable.
- esquivalience 3y ago
  Let alone lifting the figures! Thanks for the reality check.
- netbioserror 3y ago
  What an odd thing to say.
- blitzar 3y ago
  Its funny, I too have a friend that works at the ONS and they are vying for selection as a conservative party candidate.
  - dazc 3y ago
    That will be the guy with the horse, I'm guessing? Ask your friend... if they know, they know.
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bjourne 3y ago
If Labour was in government that cynical take would be pushed hard by British conservative media.
bennyelv 3y ago
The ONS is something called a “Non departmental public body” which means it is not under the control of a minister and is at arms length from the current political rulers of the day. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform#:~:text=A%20non%2Ddepartmental%20public%20body,out%20executive%20or%20regulatory%20functions https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform#:~:text=A%2.... Weirdly I used to work both at the ONS, and subsequently at the department of the cabinet office responsible for tracking and reporting on them!
- lotsofpulp 3y ago
  Where does its funding come from, and who has the power to increase or decrease it?
  - sgt101 3y ago
    Labour are certain to win the next election. Let's say that the tories threaten the ONS with a sharp cut if they don't "play ball". Here are the scenarios. ONS decide not to do it : leak to the press, Labour promise to reverse funding cut, funding cut doesn't come into force, Tories humiliated, Labour look favourably on ONS. ONS decide to do it : Labour come into power, discover what happened (someone will talk), blood up the walls, ONS disolved etc. So, I do not think that this is politically driven.
    - gumballindie 3y ago
      > Labour are certain to win the next election. Oh i very much doubt that. No one wants to pay 80% in tax as thats what will be needed to fund their social programs.
    - madaxe_again 3y ago
      Labour couldn’t win an election even if the opposition was Myra Hindley and Skeletor running on a platform of universal torture. They’d be photographed drinking shandy on a bus, or eating a sandwich, and that would be that.
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gumballindie 3y ago
Considering that labour is likely to increase taxes even more and tories will likely decrease the taxes they themselves increased, the next election is a nearly guaranteed tory win. They just have to sack rishi sunak.
- tonyedgecombe 3y ago
  >They just have to sack rishi sunak. Yeah, because getting rid of the last four Tory leaders has worked so well for them.
  - drumhead 3y ago
    They've been in power for over 13 years so they must be doing something right.
    - defrost 3y ago
      Mastering iterative upward failure. Boris was a lovable clown who self imploded so badly that surely no one could be worse --> internally 'elected' replacement Liz Truss who lasted less time than a shelf cabbage after tanking economy --> Rishi Sunak. I can't see as how anything has been done right since the UK started down the distracting BREXIT path that nobody particularly wanted in the first instance save for some kind of confounded "No, I double, double, dare you!" trigger moment.
      - drumhead 3y ago
        52% of the electorate voted for Brexit, that's hardly 'no one'. As for nothing right being done, we've been dealing with a pandemic and a war which have cause an inflationary and energy crisis. But our economic growth in the same period has been higher than Germany and on Par with France, with much lower unemployment. What have the disasters of Brexit been?
        tonyedgecombe 3y ago

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dazc 3y ago

A friend of mine works for the ONS and the notion that anyone within the entire organization would lift a finger to help the incumbent Govt is laughable.

esquivalience 3y ago
Let alone lifting the figures! Thanks for the reality check.
netbioserror 3y ago
What an odd thing to say.
blitzar 3y ago
Its funny, I too have a friend that works at the ONS and they are vying for selection as a conservative party candidate.
- dazc 3y ago
  That will be the guy with the horse, I'm guessing? Ask your friend... if they know, they know.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

bjourne 3y ago

If Labour was in government that cynical take would be pushed hard by British conservative media.

bennyelv 3y ago

The ONS is something called a “Non departmental public body” which means it is not under the control of a minister and is at arms length from the current political rulers of the day. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform#:~:text=A%20non%2Ddepartmental%20public%20body,out%20executive%20or%20regulatory%20functions https://www.gov.uk/guidance/public-bodies-reform#:~:text=A%2.... Weirdly I used to work both at the ONS, and subsequently at the department of the cabinet office responsible for tracking and reporting on them!

lotsofpulp 3y ago
Where does its funding come from, and who has the power to increase or decrease it?
- sgt101 3y ago
  Labour are certain to win the next election. Let's say that the tories threaten the ONS with a sharp cut if they don't "play ball". Here are the scenarios. ONS decide not to do it : leak to the press, Labour promise to reverse funding cut, funding cut doesn't come into force, Tories humiliated, Labour look favourably on ONS. ONS decide to do it : Labour come into power, discover what happened (someone will talk), blood up the walls, ONS disolved etc. So, I do not think that this is politically driven.
  - gumballindie 3y ago
    > Labour are certain to win the next election. Oh i very much doubt that. No one wants to pay 80% in tax as thats what will be needed to fund their social programs.
  - madaxe_again 3y ago
    Labour couldn’t win an election even if the opposition was Myra Hindley and Skeletor running on a platform of universal torture. They’d be photographed drinking shandy on a bus, or eating a sandwich, and that would be that.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

gumballindie 3y ago

Considering that labour is likely to increase taxes even more and tories will likely decrease the taxes they themselves increased, the next election is a nearly guaranteed tory win. They just have to sack rishi sunak.

tonyedgecombe 3y ago
>They just have to sack rishi sunak. Yeah, because getting rid of the last four Tory leaders has worked so well for them.
- drumhead 3y ago
  They've been in power for over 13 years so they must be doing something right.
  - defrost 3y ago
    Mastering iterative upward failure. Boris was a lovable clown who self imploded so badly that surely no one could be worse --> internally 'elected' replacement Liz Truss who lasted less time than a shelf cabbage after tanking economy --> Rishi Sunak. I can't see as how anything has been done right since the UK started down the distracting BREXIT path that nobody particularly wanted in the first instance save for some kind of confounded "No, I double, double, dare you!" trigger moment.
    - drumhead 3y ago
      52% of the electorate voted for Brexit, that's hardly 'no one'. As for nothing right being done, we've been dealing with a pandemic and a war which have cause an inflationary and energy crisis. But our economic growth in the same period has been higher than Germany and on Par with France, with much lower unemployment. What have the disasters of Brexit been?
      - tonyedgecombe 3y ago