Comments on Tory Bear - right-wing political gossip: Exclusive: Civil Service - Eurosceptics need not a...

That's new: leaking to blogs before ent...

2009-09-23T16:55:48.698+01:00

That's new: leaking to blogs before entering the Civil Service

If you're convinced that it's a conspiracy...

2009-09-22T23:47:27.147+01:00

If you're convinced that it's a conspiracy, why not post the entire set of questions? Then we can see if it's a consistent bias, or if you've just cherry-picked a couple which happen to go vaguely in one direction (as neither is explicitly pro-Europe) from dozens of statements on multiple issues.

FWIW, I think the correct answer to both examples here would be 'Cannot say', no?

ha ok whatever. your naivety is overwhelming. Like...

2009-09-22T10:56:10.880+01:00

ha ok whatever. your naivety is overwhelming. Like hell the answers to those questions are not considered.

interesting choice of words no? Could have written about annnythiiing and it had to be that. whatever.

You've got the wrong end of the stick TB - hav...

2009-09-22T10:53:05.389+01:00

You've got the wrong end of the stick TB - having sat and passed the Civil Service exams, I can confirm the comment made by anonymous at 18.55 - namely that the specific text is used to test reasoning ability and should in no way be taken as an indication of civil service 'outlook'

You need to look before you leap...

"Which, touch wood, in a matter months will b...

2009-09-21T21:03:35.069+01:00

"Which, touch wood, in a matter months will be distinctly more Eurosceptic than the current one"

sounds like TB's prediction for a UKIP victory

I'll bet your aspiring bureaucrat failed his v...

2009-09-21T18:55:05.316+01:00

I'll bet your aspiring bureaucrat failed his verbal reasoning test. Half the process of these things is to use a controversial or dubious passage upon which to base the questions; the good candidates are supposed to be able to separate their own opinions from information presented to them. That is a skill.

It invariably states at the beginning of these tests that you must base your answers ONLY on the information given. There is no conspiracy.

There was a time when the British Civil Service gu...

2009-09-21T18:28:21.742+01:00

There was a time when the British Civil Service guarded its impartiality jealously to avoid any accusation of political bias.

Sadly, the insidious leftist infection of every organ of government under New Labour is now absolute and it will take a generation to purge this poison from the Civil Service.

Cameron needs to be very aware of the fact that, should he be successful in winning the next GE, he and his Cabinet colleagues will inherit a Civil Service that at best dislikes them and at its worst, will actively work against any and every policy that the new Administration attempts to promote.

When I was active within government, I recall entering the Private Office (well, it took up an entire floor actually) of a certain Secretary of State and being aghast to see 'Vote Labour' posters adorning all four walls and most of the filing cabinets (and this was during the GE before last!).

If Cameron has any sense, when he enters No.10 he will ironically have to do what the Conservatives derided Blair for - namely form a close-knit 'sofa cabinet' to discuss and implement decisions away from the eyes and ears of a hostile Civil Service. This would have to remain in place until he had a chance to at least replace the majority of the senior Civil Servants he inherits and begin ‘draining the swamp’.

If not, the 'Good Ship Cameron' will leak like a sieve and the term 'Private and Confidential' on Ministerial papers will cease to have any meaning...

WG

faceless scum.

2009-09-21T17:27:53.603+01:00

faceless scum.

It seems to me that both these examples are trying...

2009-09-21T17:26:33.263+01:00

It seems to me that both these examples are trying to make the EU appear more attractive to right wing Eurosceptics, saying that:

a) we would have lost a lot of sovereignty if we hadn't joined the EU due to globalisation anyway

and

b) the Treaty/Constitution is full of right wing ideas about free markets and liberal economics

neither of which makes me think any better of the EU, but it is a rather more subtle approach to softening up Eurosceptics than you seem to suggest