A bit of a ding-dong in Tory CCHQ. The rather unfortunate closeness of the Conservative Party’s head office acronym these days, CCHQ, to that of the entirely harmless National Eavesdroppers GCHQ, has been highlighted somewhat by the new Coalition campaign to make working voters resentful of those who “won’t work”. There are, of course, large numbers of people who are too idle to work, but as The Slog has now posted twice in the last 15 months, they’ve lifted themselves off the sofa and back to work since May 2010 at the rate of around 200,000 a year.

The campaign’s sledgehammer-subtle approach is to use ads and direct/viral internet marketing in key constituencies to compare ‘hard-working families’ with ‘nasty single half-shaven blokes’. Its author/inspirer is schizoid personality victim Grant Shapps, the marketing man of a thousand aliases and a million lies. This is supposed to be ‘Government’ advertising (and is thus paid for by you and I) but it is just as much Party propaganda as New Labour and its pro-ASBO and anti-rape bollocks of the previous decade.

Mainly, however, it looks like the most stupid own-goal of all time. The removal of, for example child benefits from many ‘hard working families’ looks a bit sick in the light of such crass caricatures. (As a former adman I can tell you that pols make, by a country mile, the worst clients.)

Now I understand from one disgruntled backbencher still rooted to the planet that Tory MPs with an IQ in double figures are posing the philosophical question to CCHQ, “Are you mad or what?”. I suspect in Grant’s case, the answer is “Yes”.

Privatising the not entirely finding jobs sector. Stay tuned: this may yet turn into one of the major scandals of Camerlot government. Recent ignored reports from interested but objective parties include the following phrases:

‘Too much premium was placed on ‘price’ rather than ‘quality’ during tendering stage.’; ‘The overly bureaucratic procurement processes adopted by some primes has created a barrier to some sub-contractors entering the Work Programme.’; ‘Many tier 2 providers are yet to receive any Work Programme referrals, or in some cases contracts from their prime, reinforcing concerns that some [charities] have been used as ‘bid
candy.’; ‘Of the 40 prime contracts offered by DWP only three were awarded to the civil society sector leaving 35 – or 88% – going to private sector organisations.’

This isn’t a Party aligned blogsite. But what the above represents is slavish deviton to political polemic at the expense of both the unemployed and the taxpayer. Only a contemporary Western Government could manage to cheat both.

Fear and Loathing in Los Angeles. Word reaches me that the Disgusting Digger is closing in on the LA Times. This isn’t news: he’s been sniffing around like a dog with two dicks in search of bitch in heat for at least three months now. But now I hear that the world’s most unpleasant media criminal is nearing closure.

Murdoch isn’t after money in this acquisition: nobody made much dosh out of the LAT for many a long year. No, Roop is after the influence and cachet the title brings.

Thus the great privacy invader who lost his mind when testifying before the UK’s CM&S Parliamentary Committee is on the verge of having the same set of US press media that he enjoys in Britain. Good to see Transatlantic criminal justice and equality before the law still exercising its unforgiving long arm in the pursuit of villains, be they high or low.