Guido was surprised that a letter from Sir John Rose, CEO of Rolls Royce in this morning’s FT hasn’t got more traction:

“To draw an analogy, if the UK was a business, the shareholders would be asking serious questions. The current model appears to be that we can grow our business by growing overhead, by applying better terms and conditions to support functions than to wealth creators, and by paying dividends out of borrowings not all of which are recognised on the balance sheet.

We are also asked to believe that service levels will inevitably suffer if the costs of delivery are reduced. This need not be the case. As any business will confirm, service levels will reflect prioritisation, proper definition of desired outcomes, concentration on reducing waste and investment in productivity.”

Rose is a member of Brown’s special Business Council which is meant to have the ear of the PM. Brown clearly isn’t listening though…