The NHS is once again on the lookout for the country’s finest minds to tackle its biggest post-pandemic problem: it’s currently advertising for 12 diversity, inclusion and social equality roles across the country, with salaries reaching up to £108,075. An overall annual bill of £618,612…
This is on top of the 8 diversity managers who were hired on £50,000 salaries at the start of this year, and includes managerial positions with responsibilities such as:
“…Lead[ing] and support[ing] the effective delivery and implementation of our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) approach through multi-functional teams [and] playing a fundamental role in the development and lived reality of a truly diverse workforce.”
The most lucrative offer will go to the incoming “Director of Equality and Inclusion” at Birmingham Community Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, who’ll start early next year on a minimum wage of £93,735, and be expected to “promote and celebrate our diversity… and ensure it is embedded at the heart of everything we do.” The job description adds “We know we have not always got things right, but we are committed to making a difference“. Guido reckons job cuts would be a good place to start…
Question Time managed to make a rare bit of news last night when vaccines minister Maggie Throup told the audience she expects we will now need Covid boosters every year from now until who knows. Asked the question by Fiona Bruce, Throup replied:
“At the moment it looks as if we probably will, looking at the way the virus has gone already.”
It won’t be long until we’re all on first-name terms with our vaccinators…
SW1 will be waking up disappointed this morning after the Bexley by-election result created a far-from interesting narrative. The Tories won with an impressive – given the context – 20.4% majority. This is, however, down from 2019’s 41.1% majority and Labour saw a swing to them of 10.2%, so they will also be happy. Reform UK’s third-place showing with over 6% will have given Richard Tice an early Christmas present. As expected for a midterm by-election turnout collapsed to 33.5%.
While Labour may be pleased, Guido pointed out yesterday that neither Starmer nor Sadiq had visited the constituency during the by-election, and sources informed Guido that neither man had appeared on any of Labour’s leaflets. One Tory source this morning suggests the result would have been much better for them had the two men shown their faces:
“Keir and Sadiq played a blinder by not bothering to make the 30 minute trip down to Bexley. Their names are absolute dirt down there and if they’d turned up Labour would have got a lower vote share than Corbyn.”
Reform UK said their result is very good and “solid growth on which to build”:
“There will be a lot of Red Wall Tories looking at this result and at North Shropshire then at their majority and feeling very uncomfortable. Good, they should.”
Now on to the much more exciting North Shropshire poll on the 16the…
The Guardian’s social media offering went tits up last night, after a bunch of Twitter users accused the newspaper of “sexism” for illustrating a story about the potential banning of office party liasons with a fulsome cover image. Happily for the killjoys of Twitter they nipped the problem in the bud by swapping the image…
The New Statesman’s political editor, Stephen Bush, has announced he’s leaving the magazine to join the FT as a weekly staff columnist and associate editor. He’ll take up his new post in early 2022, having worked at the New Statesman for over six years. Commenting on the move, Bush says:
“I’m thrilled to be joining the FT, a newspaper I’ve read and admired since my student days. It’s the best newspaper in the country bar none. From its peerless Africa coverage, Lex, Sarah O’Connor’s columns or the work of its fantastic Westminster team, I always start my day with the FT and am incredibly excited to be joining.”
Only yesterday his soon-to-be ex-editor said of Andrew Marr’s hiring that he’s finally bringing “in some big hitters and more experience”. Presumably Stephen had secured his next gig before Jason Cowley’s comments…
