A Freedom of Information request by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed that staff numbers rose from 96,066 in 2009-10 to 108,856 last year. The figures speak for themselves, and the contrast with the hot air about cuts could scarcely be more stark: 12,790 more staff, a 13.3 per cent increase in the headcount. George Osborne should mull over these figures the next time he wonders why the UK's growth rate is so disappointing and then read the point Daniel Hannan MEP made yesterday in his Telegraph blog.
Here’s the thing: the relative prosperity of the South East comes, not despite the fact that it is getting less public subsidy than the other regions, but because of it. Government subventions can become like narcotics, debilitating their recipients, encouraging them to arrange their affairs around the next fix. In parts of the country where the state controls most of the economy, school leavers who might otherwise have become entrepreneurs instead join the public sector. A vicious circle is established.

A Freedom of Information request by the TaxPayers’ Alliance has revealed that staff numbers rose from 96,066 in 2009-10 to 108,856 last year. The figures speak for themselves, and the contrast with the hot air about cuts could scarcely be more stark: 12,790 more staff, a 13.3 per cent increase in the headcount. George Osborne should mull over these figures the next time he wonders why the UK's growth rate is so disappointing and then read the point Daniel Hannan MEP made yesterday in his Telegraph blog.
Here’s the thing: the relative prosperity of the South East comes, not despite the fact that it is getting less public subsidy than the other regions, but because of it. Government subventions can become like narcotics, debilitating their recipients, encouraging them to arrange their affairs around the next fix. In parts of the country where the state controls most of the economy, school leavers who might otherwise have become entrepreneurs instead join the public sector. A vicious circle is established.
