Outing obscurantism...

You knew that the laughable bitch-slap-fest that was the "we're more gay-friendly than you" tit-for-tat this week was about more than perceived equality and the pink pound: there could be more bad news being buried but the Times today reports of 'doomsday' cutback plans being drawn up by senior civil servants;

Senior civil servants have let it be known that they are sceptical about the claims made by both main parties on public spending.

This news encourages me in that at least some in power have the country foremost in their minds. Top marks also to Steve Bundred head of the spending watchdog the Audit Commission the who stated the obvious fact that "politicans had failed to be honest about cuts" but more importantly called for "severe pay restraint" for public sector workers.

The article (by Jonathan Oliver, Isabel Oakeshott and David Smith) also mentions the looming mutiny inside the Cabinet and Downing Street over Crash Gordon's "failure to admit that a future Labour government would have to reduce public spending." Failure to admit, nice; lying, scheming toe-rag would be more accurate.

Downing Street advisers have warned the prime minister they are ready to quit unless he sacks the cabinet minister they blame for encouraging him to make misleading claims about budget figures.

Yes! They are demanding the removal of Shaun Woodward who has a special role advising Brown on strategy (that would be the "calamitous strategic miscalculation" or in other words the sorry scene we see at PMQs now of lie, obfuscate, lie, dither, say "zero % rise" etc). Apparently a Downing Street insider has said that his [Woodward's] influence has "triggered a bitter row behind the scenes, with senior figures including Lord Mandelson". LOL!