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This afternoon I've had the interesting experience of emailing a friend to say 'You know that a press release has gone out saying your agency is being abolished, right?' As it turns out, it looks more to be reorganisation, with the term 'abolish' used merely for spin. Still, something of a sign of the times. I have friends working all over the public sector; in teaching, health, central government departments, government agencies and the army. I wonder how many of us will still be thus employed in two years time?

Two interesting links have surfaced today. Firstly, someone has worked out the effects of the housing benefit cuts, area by area. In Cambridge, the changes will result in a reduction of £25.32 per week. That's £113.94 less every month, an unmanageable sum for a pensioner, family on a low income or unemployed person to find elsewhere.

The Guardian continues to cover the story of housing benefits cuts, and the government's response continues to be scandalously offhand. The Department of Work and Pensions stated,

'What these reforms mean is that people receiving housing benefit may not be able to live in expensive city centres, but the same applies to most working families who do not receive benefit'.

That's a vast understatement. Currently most people are priced out of city centres; these reforms will price people receiving housing benefit out of the entire South-East of the country.

The other link is a somewhat surreal interview with Eric Pickles, minister for Communities and Local Government.

For your convenience, I have extracted Mr. Pickles' choice quotes below:

'This building was the Balkans until I arrived.'

'...if we let the system take over before we stop in any way, then the cigar-chomping Commies take over again. The cigar-chomping Commies are not going to take over on my watch.'

'Basically, I'm not mad keen on reports longer than two pages because after that most things are just word processing.'

'You cannot see things in shades of grey. Labour is wrong, the Lib Dems are wrong, we are right.'

'I see myself as a diamond geezer.'

This man is in control of a multibillion pound departmental budget, and the future of local government is in his hands. Words actually fail me.