Best Of

Afternoon all

I'm only interested (parochially) in the London local elections next year (actually, not just parochially, I can't really comment on much else except for the elections to the two new Shadow Unitaries in Surrey).

In my patch, it's looking increasingly like Labour vs Newham Independents (NIP) with the Greens a strong third. The questions are a) whether Mehmood Mirza can win the mayoralty off Labour and b) whether the NIP can take enough seats to deprive Labour of a majority and whether there's a post-election deal to be done with the Greens.

NIP can easily 15 and possibly 23 seats but they really need 25-30 (with the Greens winning 9-12) and that's a harder one to forecast. Reform will be interesting (18% in Plaistow suggests a constituency but is there enough to win anywhere, even Beckton?) but more as a spoiler for Labour.

Why are HMRC spending £11m on office furniture?

https://x.com/lnallalingham/status/2003029277759979530

Er, HMRC have loads of offices and will sometimes need new furniture. You're not expecting people to work on the floor are you?

What a weird thing to complain about.

It’s not that some of them need new furniture, it’s that they’re spending £11m on one order for furniture. Surely they’re not buying a desk and chair for their whole staff all at the same time?

I wonder if there is some major merging of offices on new sites going on, after the merger.

Office furniture covers more than that. Stationery cupboards, filing cabinets, meeting room kit, coffee area, etc. etc. A better grade of security for the locks for HMRC. And delivery and assembly.

Half the time the right complain about the shite facilities* in the public sector, half the time they complain when the facilities are upgraded to basic commercial standard, ie all looking reasonably neat and professional and to modern H&S standards esp for screen work.

And the rest of the time (from their home computers) they demand civil servants all work in the office 5 days a week.

Look at the cost of office fit-outs in large private sector businesses. Facilities management procurement is largely the same process regardless of the buying organisation. I suspect the HMRC approach is rather more cheapskate than many of those.

Why are HMRC spending £11m on office furniture?

https://x.com/lnallalingham/status/2003029277759979530

Why do posters who rely on right wing news never spend 20 seconds checking their facts before getting angry?

A quick google of "did hmrc spend 11m furniture?" leads to:

No, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) did not spend £11 million on furniture. Recent news reports indicate that HMRC spent over £1 million on office chairs and other furniture over a three-year period.
Specifically, figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request in 2024 revealed the following spending:
Over £1 million on office chairs
£59,000 on desks
£16,000 on storage units
The spending, which included an £852,000 deal with the seat firm Posturite starting in October 2023, has drawn criticism from groups like the TaxPayers' Alliance, particularly as the purchases were made despite staff only being required to be in the office for a portion of the week.
Other reports referencing £11 million relate to different government initiatives, such as funding for town and city centre recovery schemes or homelessness prevention programmes, not HMRC furniture.

Link to contract. Published last week, value £10.9m to a single supplier.

https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c2ebc7d5-e787-4fd4-95ec-133629f52f74

Single supplier is to be expected. Uniform styling in office furniture is the norm, especially with the use of open plan design. Also making sure that modular design stuff actually fits together with wiring ducts, etc. - think open plan cubicles. And key systems. And single point to go to for assembly and installation.

So not an objection per se.

Why are HMRC spending £11m on office furniture?

https://x.com/lnallalingham/status/2003029277759979530

Because it has 60,000 staff and £160 a chair is good value?

Not just chairs but desks too. As the tweet makes clear.

It may well be about saving money.

If you have staff sitting at a desk x hours a day, then you have an obligation to provide furniture that protects the staff against bad back, RSI etc.

Plenty of companies have been sued and had to make large settlements for this.

One reason for the popularity of the Herman Miller Aeron chairs in offices, was that they provided a bulletproof protection against such claims - “We spent over a thousand per person on buying the most ergonomic chairs on the planet”. I was told, by an HR person, that buying them meant that the company insurance policy against such things was a fraction of what it otherwise would be.

So you get expensive chairs, monitor arms (easy adjustment) and the latest - the powered, adjustable height desks.

Yes, a typical office worker (public or private sector) spends a large portion of their life in their chair. Having a comfortable one is important and a good use of £££. It's no different to making sure our soldiers have proper boots.

Why are HMRC spending £11m on office furniture?

https://x.com/lnallalingham/status/2003029277759979530

Er, HMRC have loads of offices and will sometimes need new furniture. You're not expecting people to work on the floor are you?

What a weird thing to complain about.

It’s not that some of them need new furniture, it’s that they’re spending £11m on one order for furniture. Surely they’re not buying a desk and chair for their whole staff all at the same time?

I wonder if there is some major merging of offices on new sites going on, after the merger.

Office furniture covers more than that. Stationery cupboards, filing cabinets, meeting room kit, coffee area, etc. etc. A better grade of security for the locks for HMRC. And delivery and assembly.

Half the time the right complain about the shite facilities* in the public sector, half the time they complain when the facilities are upgraded to basic commercial standard, ie all looking reasonably neat and professional and to modern H&S standards esp for screen work.

And the rest of the time (from their home computers) they demand civil servants all work in the office 5 days a week.

Look at the cost of office fit-outs in large private sector businesses. Facilities management procurement is largely the same process regardless of the buying organisation. I suspect the HMRC approach is rather more cheapskate than many of those.

£11 million doesn't seem expensive to me for 70,000 employees and £5 billion operating costs. I think people who haven't worked in large organisations don't have an understanding of how much money swills around.

That or PB’s “how hard can it be” contingent have discovered another string to their already impressive multi-talented bow: facilities procurement expertise.

Why are HMRC spending £11m on office furniture?

https://x.com/lnallalingham/status/2003029277759979530

Why do posters who rely on right wing news never spend 20 seconds checking their facts before getting angry?

A quick google of "did hmrc spend 11m furniture?" leads to:

No, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) did not spend £11 million on furniture. Recent news reports indicate that HMRC spent over £1 million on office chairs and other furniture over a three-year period.
Specifically, figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request in 2024 revealed the following spending:
Over £1 million on office chairs
£59,000 on desks
£16,000 on storage units
The spending, which included an £852,000 deal with the seat firm Posturite starting in October 2023, has drawn criticism from groups like the TaxPayers' Alliance, particularly as the purchases were made despite staff only being required to be in the office for a portion of the week.
Other reports referencing £11 million relate to different government initiatives, such as funding for town and city centre recovery schemes or homelessness prevention programmes, not HMRC furniture.

"the purchases were made despite staff only being required to be in the office for a portion of the week"

That requires fewer chairs, not no chairs.

Last time I was in the office, I'm pretty sure that we had chairs. So even in the private sector, we spend money on such extravagances,

There's a lot of engineering him into position I think, and Starmer is clearly on board - not sure how else someone openly campaigning for the top job is still in the Cabinet. He is the annointed successor - and always was.

For that reason, I don't think he makes it.

Doubt he is anointed. There was number 10 briefing against him about a month ago.

IMO wouldn't be surprised if Starmer sacks him, says he needs to bring someone in to end the strikes.

I think it depends on how desperate Labour becomes, which itself depends on how catastrophic the local elections are. If Labour has a true mare - for example losing control of London Boroughs which they currently run with large majorities - then switching to Streeting might be on the cards. The one caveat is if the big winner in the cities happens to be the Greens, Labour members might conclude that being more radical and passionate and tacking left is what's required.

Labour won a NEV of 35% in 2022, and will probably win about 10-15% in May. Reform won nothing in 2022, and will probably win 25-30% next year. The Greens would surge, but the traditional outperformance in local elections by the Lib Dem’s will take a lot of votes that would otherwise go to them. The Conservatives will probably win 20-25%, compared to 30% in 2022.

What that likely means is Labour being hit on multiple fronts.

Boroughs like Barnsley, Wakefield, Sunderland, Halton, Sandwell, Thurrock will go Reform.

Islington, Hackney, Camden, Lambeth, Birmingham, Southwark, Brent, South Tyneside, will be lost to NOC at least (Your Party will also be challenging in some).

The Tories will lose a string of counties and new unitaries to Reform, but pick up Westminster, Barnet, Wandsworth,

And of course, the results in Wales and Scotland will be horrid.

I suspect Labour will actually get about 20%, win London overall still and do better than expected in Scotland where Holyrood polls suggest Labour gains from the SNP as in the Hamilton by election. That will stop a bad night for Starmer becoming a catastrophe and may save his job

Otherwise agree with Reform and the Greens likely the main winners next year plus Plaid in Wales and the LDs treading water as the Tories and Labour collapse

With both Tories and Labour down, I'd be surprised and disappointed if the LDs just tread water. National opinion polls during the 2022 local campaign period had Labour on around 40%, the Tories on around 34%, with the LDs at 10%. The political situation now is hugely better for the LDs in relation to both the major parties, notwithstanding Reform's huge surge from just 5% back then.

You may see some LD gains from the Tories, Labour and SNP but offset by some LD losses to the Greens and Reform and Plaid

Mark Pack is a good scout and he has been dutifully recording the LD's ups and downs since the GE. It's been generally a pattern of modest progress, and I would expect that to continue through the May contests.

One would think the ID card Bill, and rejoining the EU moving the agenda, are both in the LibDem’s favour?

Mark Pack is standing down as Lib Dem President from January 1st, so he will have more time on his hands (as if!).

I hope to engage him in suggesting ways in which members of the House of Lords can be held to account when they waste the time of the HoL repeatedly spouting inane bollocks into the national conversation, displaying the hinterland of a lobotomised slug.

(That follows a particular recent debate on aspects of 'cycling' where there were peers reading out bits of the Telegraph, and proposing amendments to introduce laws that have already been in law for nearly half a century already.)

Since when has death by dangerous cycling, death by careless cycling or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling been UK law for cyclists unlike the equivalent death or serious injury offences by dangerous or careless driving for drivers of vehicles?

They used wanton and furious driving in this case

Where a dozy woman was looking at her phone and walked out on the road and the guy was using a not road legal bike.

I had a little sympathy for the cyclist. She should be paying attention when crossing the road.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41028321

She should but the law works on extra caution the more dangerous the vehicle. So lorry drivers have to pay extra attention to drivers, drivers to cyclists and motorcycles and pedestrians and cyclists to pedestrians etc. Even if the pedestrian or cyclist or motorcyclist was slightly at fault the driver will normally get the blame or the cyclist if a pedestrian unless say a motorcycle was being driven massively over the speed limit