The Treasury is fast becoming a basket case

Above: Victorian advice (in cast iron) about the importance of being organised so that you know where things are. The government has “lost” a database containing personal details of ALL children in the country, together with their parents’ bank details. Over the years I have purchased hundreds of databases from data bureaus, and none of them have failed to arrive - the suppliers ALWAYS sent them by registered post.

A day of rain. And as I had to be in and out of the office all afternoon I became fairly damp. Coming back from BQW I saw that all of the floor (twelve people) were at the television in the Conference Room.

"Listen to this” Ian (our boss) said, sounding like a Catherine Tate character.

The television screen showed Chancellor Alistair Darling giving a statement to the House of Commons. It seemed incredible that people such as Judy (Alan’s PA) or Janette (Sheila’s assistant who does the accounts) should give a second glance to this scene, since they have often expressed their contempt for all things political. What made them rooted to the spot was the fact that details about their children (their children!) had gone “missing”.

Janette in particular was becoming panicky, calling her husband to tell him to take the money out of their main account and put it into another one they have. This agitation affected Paul (one son) and Tony W (two teenage children) who both became jittery. Angela was more sanguine (“It’s probably lying in someone’s drawer”).



Above: a display of hand-made baskets. Basket weaving used to be a staple industry in the county. There may be a revival as plastic carrier bags are likely to be phased out.

With the scandal over tax credits and the scandal over Northern Rock, and now the scandal over the missing children’s data the Treasury is fast becoming a basket case. From a PR point of view, it is difficult to think of anything worse than upsetting half the population in the country, especially by placing their children / grandchildren in “danger” through official negligence. This may well be the end for the government, the point at which they realise they have no hope of winning the next election.

But also looking at the situation from a PR point of view, it was a master stroke to have Treasury Secretary Andy Burnham sitting next to Alistair Darling during the Commons statement. Unlike the Presbyterian pursed lips of the Prime Minister and the elegant diffidence of the Chancellor, Mr Burnham looked filled with remorse and private anguish. Looking at him you knew (since he couldn’t have faked those expressions) that one person at least in the government was sorry for what had happened (I have never really understood the phrase “tortured brow” until today).

In less than an hour someone from the government will have to appear on Newsnight to explain what happened. And do it again on the Today programme tomorrow morning. Those two interviews may well decide the fate of the government.