Toynbee then and now
Polly Toynbee in 2002, noble defender of the right of workers in the public sector:
‘Unions are reporting that some councils are threatening to privatise their services to avoid having to pay the extra money. Contractors are not bound by any pay rates except the national minimum wage of £4.10 an hour. The North West Employers Organisation, which represents 46 councils, has told the negotiators that they are unwilling to accept the deal. But these threats to privatise workforces expose the harsh jungle the public sector has become in the last 20 years and how little Labour has done yet to put things right.’
Polly Toynbee in October 2009, taking the filthy lucre and writing in ‘Ethos’, the in-house magazine of multi-national outsourcing firm, Serco:
‘There is no doubt that putting some services out to tender has vastly improved certain standards over the years, broken the power of vested interests and brought in competition that has sharpened up results.’
Vested bloody interests?
Does anyone even vaguely near the left take this woman seriously anymore?
Can you name anyone who left the Labour Party to join the SDP who should be taken seriously?
Sound point. I met David Owen a couple of years back. Full of himself would be an understatement.
That is bloody outrageous. I mean, I know Toynbee is pretty much the Mystic Meg of politics but I didn’t think she would sink so low.
Well, at least we’ll know what angle her commentary is coming from when the nation CWU strike begins. To your picket lines comrades!
Just on the subject of utterly unspeakable hypocrisy, did anyone note this?
“broken the power of vested interests….”
Mystic Meg Toynbee is refering to the public sector trade unions ‘cos I can’t think who/what else she is refering to. She, like the rest of the establishment, is attacking the trade unions ….how dare they, in her books, fight for the rights of workers.
Hack for hire….that is Ms Toynbee. Even if it means writing for bloody Serco!!!!!
Dave/Louise
I nearly didn’t bother with this piece as I thought there’d just be a collective shrug of the shoulders and a what do you expect?’ but you’re right, in the cold light of Saturday morning those words written in that place do seem symbolic of an utter, utter betrayal of anything she ever professed to stand for.
It would be interesting to see what the NUJ made of it. Anyone know anyone in the NUJ. An Anti-Polly picket outside the Guardian offices till she discloses her Serco fee and hands it over to the LeftNewMedia fund would be fun, certainly. I’ll do the Manchester office, if they still have one.
Having read the whole article, a lot of is classic Guardian ‘one the one hand…on the other’ waffle, after which she probably scarfs up the free buffet and picks up the cheque (the journalistic equivalent of an academic’s ‘airfare paper’). That said, the money-shot quote you use is classic Toynbee: trade unions are wonderful organisations…until they go on strike, at which point she starts hallucinating flying pickets and fat, sweaty, balding ‘barons’ the size of factories round every corner.
It has gone, the link has been broken!
it’s here [http://www.ethosjournal.com/archive/item/142-public-or-private] all good