Jun 2009 09

Doesn't solve it, Sralan1

Sir Alan Sugar is in the papers this morning claiming he will step down as director of some of his companies to avoid the escalating brouhaha over his BBC job that has been gathering speed ever since Gordon Brown appointed him 'enterprise tsar' last week.

It shows that Sir Alan knows there's a problem and is attempting to do something about it, but sadly this step is woefully inadequate. The base of the problem, as numerous people have pointed out, is that Sir Alan will effectively have a show promoting himself, funded by licence-fee payers (all of us), at the same time as taking a very political role within the Government.

It has the whiff of President Chavez's all-singing, all-dancing 8 hour public broadcast extravaganzas, only not as exciting. Taxpayers have made Sir Alan a star, and anyone who works at the BBC and has two brain cells to rub together should see that if Sir Alan wishes to take his peerage then he can no longer present the Apprentice, as this would compromise even the token impartiality the BBC so desperately clings to. Let's hope they identify this conflict, and act on it.

And so, shortly after Gordon has raised his embattled eyes and said 'you're hired', Auntie will surely have to point her wizened old finger at poor Sralan and say 'you're fired'.

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  • Hardeep Singh

    This hollier than thou patron saint of business is just a name…. The Labour government with their natural inability to understand business seem to think that bright show biz lights are all it takes for Sir Alan to be the business Czar. The country is on it’s knees with a bleak outlook and that’s the optimistic view! Sir Alan’s products are what exactly…. mobile phones..? MP3 players, what consumer items does he exactly make…? Is there a product in PCWorld that he has manufactured if not why not. The truth is a simple 20million a year turnover chap not much more than numerous mid sized firms up and down the country. I doubt very much if he’s in the league of Sir Stuart Rose, Sir Colin Marshall or Michael O’leary…. Sir Alan doesn’t appear on Bloomberg nor CNBC yet all the business who really matter do…. How many of you were aware of Sir Alan before the BBC gameshow? Labour have simply extended his marketing and I doubt he knows better than our Captains of Industry of to improve Enterprise….
    Why not appoint me into such a position and I start shedding the excessive layers of Public Sector and Bureacratic fat. The money can then be used for better yet partnered training with firms and a cut in commercial rates for those who wish to take on new people. It’s really not very hard, common sense very rarely is, it’s the courage to face up to it that’s the real test.
    I have numerous family members that would offer far more effective business decisions than he would be able to. Sure Sir Alan is a likeable chap but at this point in our nation’s economic journey we need more pragmatism and a little less of the show biz. It reminds of the early days of New Labour where policy was formed around nice warm glowly feelings inside and what made you feel all happy and comfortable. This is no good, if Sir Alan had such an Empire then he wouldn’t have the time for this kind of appointment.
    New Labour haven’t learnt a thing even after the past few weeks but more telling is the simple fact they don’t wiant to learn neither.