Whitehall pen-pushers have consistently whined about dragging themselves into the office a meagre three days a week. They’ve spared no expense on making home-working as comfortable as possible…
In response to a written question trade minister Justin Madders admitted that civil servants over at the Business and Trade Department splashed a whopping £318,148 on work from home equipment from April 2022 to March 2025. This includes the usual ‘tools’ – chairs, screens and desks. That’s £106,049 each year…
The taxpayer may have a view on which should be prioritised. UK DOGE recommends costs are cut here…
Tom Baldwin, author of Starmer’s hagiography, spoke to Times Radio:
Tom Baldwin: “I think he’d like to do something. He’s very dutiful and driven by service. That’s why he came into politics. I think that’s characterised his time as prime minister. He hasn’t always sought popularity or been good at being popular. But I think he has some of the necessary qualities that we actually do want in a prime minister. That resilience, that relentlessness, that ability to carry the weight and the job really does weigh very heavily on people and he carries that weight very, very well.”
Jo Coburn: “NATO Secretary-General?”
Tom Baldwin: “I think that’s something that he would be interested in. I think it probably requires Andy Burnham’s government to support him in that and these are some of the questions which Andy Burnham has to resolve quite quickly.”