26th August 2010, 12:24 PM
What I find particularly worrying is that after so many years of positive advocacy by the likes of CBA, IFA (yes, even), EH and others, it all seems to have fallen on deaf ears while the current lot were in opposition. And Archaeology is not alone in this - other disciplines too are finding that the positive work done over the last ten or more years is being almost totally disregarded. I don't think anyone was prepared for such an ideological stance as that held by the current ConDem bunch. Some commentators were warning us, Johann Hari of the Independant for example http://tiny.cc/hl0bh ... and Labour, of course, but we are now stuck with it for 5 years.
A Civil Servant contact, quite senior, tells me that one worrying thing is that instructions are coming in from the ministers for things to happen, Hunt's 50% cut to DCMS for example, and the non-elected staff in the dept then have to spend days, literally, explaining that many of the things the politicans want to do simply will not work, cannot work in the time frame they want, will end up with resulting services that will not be fit for purpose etc etc. On top of this, many of the ministers in the ConDems have a poor grasp of the political process and are expecting things to happen immediately without due and proper consultation with anyone.
I agree with Dundigging - we should all be prepared for a very different, maybe tragic, result to all of this. The positive madweasels says, well, things will change rapidly and then there will be a bedding in period and then we can all get things going again under a new arrangement, whatever that may be. The current madweasels, though, thinks 'oh my f**king God', it is going to be a blood bath.
A Civil Servant contact, quite senior, tells me that one worrying thing is that instructions are coming in from the ministers for things to happen, Hunt's 50% cut to DCMS for example, and the non-elected staff in the dept then have to spend days, literally, explaining that many of the things the politicans want to do simply will not work, cannot work in the time frame they want, will end up with resulting services that will not be fit for purpose etc etc. On top of this, many of the ministers in the ConDems have a poor grasp of the political process and are expecting things to happen immediately without due and proper consultation with anyone.
I agree with Dundigging - we should all be prepared for a very different, maybe tragic, result to all of this. The positive madweasels says, well, things will change rapidly and then there will be a bedding in period and then we can all get things going again under a new arrangement, whatever that may be. The current madweasels, though, thinks 'oh my f**king God', it is going to be a blood bath.