Sir Mark Sedwill

[selby]

IS he the first of Cumming's revenge?

[Not Now Kato]

Yep, afraid so.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Not revenge as such. He's been planning this for years.

He's taking power away from accountable civil servants and concentrating it in a small group that he controls. And they have a history of refusing to use proper channels of communications whereby everything is logged and people can be held responsible for errors, or for breaking the rules.

This is how democratic oversight of Govt gets eroded...

[SydneyRover]

Just what the country needs, less expertise at the top.

Added:

''Sir Mark Philip Sedwill KCMG FRGS (born 21 October 1964) is a British diplomat, public policy analyst and senior civil servant who has served as Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Civil Service since 2018 until 2020.[1] He has also served as National Security Adviser since 2017. He was previously the United Kingdom's Ambassador to Afghanistan from 2009 to 2010 and the NATO Senior Civilian Representative in Afghanistan in 2010. He was the Permanent Secretary at the Home Office from February 2013 to April 2017. The UK government announced on 28 June 2020 that he is ‘stepping down’ from the posts at the end of September''

Sedwell has shown that truth is more important to the country than spin and lies and has paid for it with his job, Cummings and johson have shown with their complete and utter incompetence over the handling of the UK's response to Coronavirus that they are happy to step over the bodies of British people to maintain supreme power when it is they that should be resigning.

Try and think of anyone in Britain that would be allowed to keep their job if they were directly responsible for around 40,000 dead and more than that permanently disabled.

[selby]

  First rule of big business Syd, lose the battle when trying to remove someone and you are gone mate, just another loser.

[SydneyRover]

In all the businesses I have worked for it was a sign of failure if you lost an employee, reputation, replacement, morale, retraining, payout.

[IDM]

  First rule of big business Syd, lose the battle when trying to remove someone and you are gone mate, just another loser.

This isn’t business though, it’s government.

[albie]

The big danger for the UK is that the lack of a modern legal constitution means that the system can be gamed by political manipulation of the permanent civil service administration.

This is part of a process of dismantling the infrastructure of democracy, with no clear indication of where it will end. There is no democratic oversight on this fundamental reform.

[BillyStubbsTears]

The big danger for the UK is that the lack of a modern legal constitution means that the system can be gamed by political manipulation of the permanent civil service administration.

This is part of a process of dismantling the infrastructure of democracy, with no clear indication of where it will end. There is no democratic oversight on this fundamental reform.

Bang on!

In the absence of a written constitution like the USA has, we rely on convention to say what Governments are or are nor allowed to do. That requires everyone involved in the process to know the limits and agree not to break them.

But there is literally no defence against someone who is determined and ruthless enough to say "I don't give a shot about the limits. I'm going to break these gentleman's agreements and re-work the system how I want it to be."

And THAT is what scares me so much about Cummings. He is precisely that ruthless and determined person. And he is on a mission to make Government something which is about a tiny elite core of people taking all the big decisions, with nothing recorded and nothing in place to control them.

And as I've said many times on here, if you are going to be effectively a dictator, to whom the rules do not apply, you'd better be damned sure that you get EVERY decision right. Because if you don't, and there's no checks and balances to stop you...

Of course, you could just dismiss this as simply academic arguments from someone who is on the other side of politics from Cummings. Buf if Cummings had already been up to his eyeballs in a wrong-headed policy decision that cost several 10s of thousands of lives and led to unnecessarily deep economic damage, would that make you stop and think whether he needs reining in?

[selby]

  It is one of the oldest ploys in the book, get rid of the big hitter and the underlings will either fall into line or suffer the same fate.
  There will be a few looking over their shoulder now who thought they were bullet proof, and the  messing about with Brexit will have stopped now because it will cost them their jobs.

[Glyn_Wigley]

  It is one of the oldest ploys in the book, get rid of the big hitter and the underlings will either fall into line or suffer the same fate.
  There will be a few looking over their shoulder now who thought they were bullet proof, and the  messing about with Brexit will have stopped now because it will cost them their jobs.

And how, exactly, have the Civil Service 'messed about with Brexit'?

[albie]

Selby,

This is part of a wider strategy to concentrate power, once a no deal brexit is concluded to satisfy the backers who have contributed to party funds.

Whatever your politics, we should all be wary of changes to the system not debated or agreed by the electorate.

A longer piece setting out the position in Byline Times;
https://bylinetimes.com/2020/06/29/a-hard-rain-johnson-gove-and-cummings-drive-britain-towards-elective-dictatorship/

It is surely a cause for concern!

[selby]

 Glyn, it is well known that many of the department big hitters in the civil service and he is one, and the original head of negotiations was another were avid remainers and have done everything in their power to thwart the result of the referendum.
  Now they failed to get rid of Cummings they will pay with their jobs. They are there to impose the will of the government elected by the people, which they plainly have not done, and their kingdoms are about to come under fire, and not before time.
  It is top heavy, inept, and does a poor job, for way too big a salary in many cases.

[idler]

Glyn, it is well known that many of the department big hitters in the civil service and he is one, and the original head of negotiations was another were avid remainers and have done everything in their power to thwart the result of the referendum.
  Now they failed to get rid of Cummings they will pay with their jobs. They are there to impose the will of the government elected by the people, which they plainly have not done, and their kingdoms are about to come under fire, and not before time.
  It is top heavy, inept, and does a poor job, for way too big a salary in many cases.

Your last sentence could describe the cabinet.😉

[wilts rover]

Glyn, it is well known that many of the department big hitters in the civil service and he is one, and the original head of negotiations was another were avid remainers and have done everything in their power to thwart the result of the referendum.
  Now they failed to get rid of Cummings they will pay with their jobs. They are there to impose the will of the government elected by the people, which they plainly have not done, and their kingdoms are about to come under fire, and not before time.
  It is top heavy, inept, and does a poor job, for way too big a salary in many cases.

It may be 'well known' to you, but in what way have they 'done everything in their power to thwart the result of the referendum'?

Achieving the result of the referendum was a political choice. It didn't get implemented because a large group of Tory right wingers voted against their own government. It had nothing whatsoever to do with the civil service - unless you can show us differently.

And you really think these new people Cummings will be bringing in are going to be working for less money than the people doing the job now! Yeah right.

[BillyStubbsTears]

Like I say. Cummings (unelected by anyone, ever) is now running the country and making decisions on the very biggest strategic policies.

https://mobile.twitter.com/henrymance/status/1277529724303048705

[BillyStubbsTears]

And Cummings, unelected by anyone, ever, has decided that HE has the right to entirely re-structure the way our Govt works to make it less accountable and more easily directed from a small, tight-knit central group with zero oversight.

You don't have to take MY word for it (because I know some of you don't believe me anyway).

Listen to the man himself.

https://mobile.twitter.com/StefSimanowitz/status/1277291193202810881

[BillyStubbsTears]

You Brexit supporters.

Remember "Take back control"?

Remember how cross you got when we told you, they didn't mean YOU were going to take back control. Poor lambs! They meant THEY were going to take it back.

You see the plan developing now?

[Glyn_Wigley]

Glyn, it is well known that many of the department big hitters in the civil service and he is one, and the original head of negotiations was another were avid remainers and have done everything in their power to thwart the result of the referendum.

Not well known by me. What have they done to thwart anything and where's your evidence?

[tyke1962]

You Brexit supporters.

Remember "Take back control"?

Remember how cross you got when we told you, they didn't mean YOU were going to take back control. Poor lambs! They meant THEY were going to take it back.

You see the plan developing now?

Well at least they can be voted out in four years time Billy as opposed to the Hotel California in Brussels .

[Glyn_Wigley]

You Brexit supporters.

Remember "Take back control"?

Remember how cross you got when we told you, they didn't mean YOU were going to take back control. Poor lambs! They meant THEY were going to take it back.

You see the plan developing now?

Well at least they can be voted out in four years time Billy as opposed to the Hotel California in Brussels .

How do I get rid of Cummings and the people he's going to replace the Civil Service with in four years?

[wilts rover]

You Brexit supporters.

Remember "Take back control"?

Remember how cross you got when we told you, they didn't mean YOU were going to take back control. Poor lambs! They meant THEY were going to take it back.

You see the plan developing now?

Well at least they can be voted out in four years time Billy as opposed to the Hotel California in Brussels .

And if Cummings decided to take us out of the unelected bureaucracies of the United Nations & NATO as well? Maybe the WHO & World Bank too? UEFA & FIFA next. Then the Olympics?

And none of it will be minuted. Because you have just got rid of an independent civil service who work for the taxpayer and replaced them with people working for the Tory Party - on taxpayers money.

[BillyStubbsTears]

More to the point, how do you even know what he is doing?

When he was at Dept for Education, he broke every rule in the book by refusing to use official e-mail channels, so that there was no record of meetings and decision making processes. He should have been sacked for that and never allowed anywhere near Govt again.

[SydneyRover]

Glyn, it is well known that many of the department big hitters in the civil service and he is one, and the original head of negotiations was another were avid remainers and have done everything in their power to thwart the result of the referendum.
  Now they failed to get rid of Cummings they will pay with their jobs. They are there to impose the will of the government elected by the people, which they plainly have not done, and their kingdoms are about to come under fire, and not before time.
  It is top heavy, inept, and does a poor job, for way too big a salary in many cases.

Cummings and Johnson have an aversion for the truth and Sedwell called then out on the disaster (worse disaster) that No deal would bring to the UK he also had a different view to Raab on diplomatic immunity for Sacoolas and said so. I know youkeep trying to rewrite history but it was your own side fighting to get the worse deal possible for Britain that was delaying Brexit, and as people keep having to repeat Brexit is already here it's the cost that is being squabbled about.

[selby]

 Get used to it, more to come.

[IDM]

Why get used to it, if it is wrong.?

[SydneyRover]

It's a bit sad when brexiters are reduced to railing about nothing because nothing is all they have.

[Glyn_Wigley]

Glyn, it is well known that many of the department big hitters in the civil service and he is one, and the original head of negotiations was another were avid remainers and have done everything in their power to thwart the result of the referendum.

Not well known by me. What have they done to thwart anything and where's your evidence?

Still waiting for some info here.

[foxbat]

as we lose control to an effective dictatorship so we supposedly 'win' Brexit

apart from the millionaire tax dodgers being able to keep their money offshore ,tax free

There are no benefits to Brexit.
There are no advantages to Brexit.
There are no betterments through Brexit.
There are no dividends from Brexit.

Just prove me wrong. That's all I'm asking.

[Not Now Kato]

Glyn, it is well known that many of the department big hitters in the civil service and he is one, and the original head of negotiations was another were avid remainers and have done everything in their power to thwart the result of the referendum.

Not well known by me. What have they done to thwart anything and where's your evidence?

Still waiting for some info here.

I'm afraid you're likely to be waiting a long long time Glyn - he gets his 'facts' from inside his fantasy world where they're not written down as the Brexit Unicorns have eaten them all.