It’s like shooting fish in a barrel – didn’t Ben G take Lansley to task after an equally outrages stats failure?
http://www.badscience.net/2011/02/andrew-lansley-and-his-imaginary-evidence/

More evidence, if evidence were needed that the coalition’s changes are not being driven by, err, evidence?

Never been an Eric Pickles fan – he always struck me as the John Prescott of the Tory Party, minus the laughs of course.

You shouldn’t be surprised to see random numbers quoted by consultants being passed off as fact though – New Labour practically invented the art.

The Tories could surely do better than this rambling blacmange though? Anyone would be better – in fact no one at all would be better…

http://outspokenrabbit.blogspot.com/

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As Sunny’s been kind enough to cross post this, I may as well add in here the draft model resolution that Labour (and LibDem and Green?) Council groups might want to put to their Councils to highlight Pickles’ lies. Obviously conventions for resolutions differ around the country, but I’d suggest something like this (I can do wordy):

a) That this Council notes that the press release ‘Shining a light on council spending could save up to £450 per household’, issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government on 17 June 2011 and subsequently widely and uncritically reported in the press, is based on what is effectively an advertising brochure from a procurement consultancy, rather than the“cutting edge research” claimed in the press release.

b) That this Council deplores the publication of this press release by the Department, considering it to be willfully misleading to the public, in suggesting without any basis in fact that savings of up to 20% can be made by local authorities without any effect upon frontline services.

c) Further, that this Council believes that this press release amounts to a calculated and cynical insult to all hard working, loyal, and professional local authority procurement staff, including in this authority, in its suggestion that they are not working efficiently to find appropriate procurement savings where they exist.

d) That consequently this Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Department requesting that the press release be withdrawn, and a public apology issued by the Department for the issuing of false information which is potentially highly damaging both to the integrity of public services and the reputation of local authorities.

e) That this Council notes within the press release the direct quotation, in support of the false assertions made, of the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Eric Pickles.

f) That this Council believes that in giving such explicit support and commendation to the views set out in the press release, the Secretary of State has compromised the integrity of his Department in the interests of his ideological ends, which he appears happy to pursue at the expense of the Department’s integrity and with total disregard for the normal conventions of evidence-based research.

g) That consequently this Council instructs the Chief Executive to write to the Secretary of State setting out the Council’s disappointment in his actions, reuesting that he make a public apology for those actions, and asking him to consider his own position as a Minister of the Crown given the seriousness of the way in which his Department has misled the public on this matter.

Paul@4: Excellent draft document, it should be downloaded by every Labour, Green, Independent and, if there are any, non-coalition LibDem council member across the land. They should display it on their desks as a reminder, if one were needed, that these cretins running the country by default are completely unscrupulous, willing to tell any lie, sieze upon any data, regardless of the accuracy or the source, if they feel it can be used as a stick to beat the public sector. And what the hell does that fat fuck know about communities anyway? He, like the rest of this non-government, live in a different world to the one inhabited by the majority. I would say Fat Eric lives in an ivory tower, but if you make a structure that top-heavy, it will certainly tumble and fall. If only! Usually I do’nt get into making comments about someones’ appearence, no matter how much I despise them. In the case of Pickles though, the gloves are off! YOU FAT, USELESS, ARROGANT, CONCEITED, BLOATED, OVERBLOWN, REPULSIVE FUCKING HEART ATTACK WAITING TO HAPPEN! There, I feel much better now.

“Ben Goldacre”

Anti-Tory hack. Yawn. Heard it all before, and it’s 99% “Tories are evil scum” bollocks. Any reason why I should pay attention?

I simply can’t believe that Eric Pickles would deliberately lie about something. Not with Andrew Stunell keeping him to the straight and narrow.

[6] If you really don’t understand the difference between Goldacre’s analysis of stats and Pickles then there is little point in debating with you.

@6

Wow, that was so insightful, thanks.

Seriously though: what’s your problem with Goldacre? His stats are sound and his scientific method usually bang on. Not his problem if it so happens that Tories are scummy liars who’ll manipulate stats/media/press releases at any given opportunity and they get called on it.

@ 6 Parasite

“Anti-Tory hack. Yawn. Heard it all before, and it’s 99% “Tories are evil scum” bollocks. ”

Um, since when? Goldacre’s raison d’etre is exposing misuse of science and statistics. I’ve never seen any reason to consider him politically partisan, although you’d expect him to focus on whoever’s in government because their view is most likely to affect national policy. You really need to deal with the point he’s making, instead of attacking him using ad homs that aren’t even true.

@OP, Paul Cotterill: Come on, Paul, it is not a massive scandal. But it is fuck witted and insulting to anyone who manages a purchasing contract (public or private).

The consultants’ report identifies mobile phones as a cost hot spot. Goldacre has insufficient knowledge of the phone industry to contradict the report. Here are two reasons why a company or council pays more per month in June 2011 than you can buy on the consumer market:
1. They bought a long term contract that was cheap initially but tied them at that price.
2. They get other benefits from the contract that are not pertinent to consumers (eg access to billing systems that allow workers to make personal calls on a work phone).

Council and corporate buyers have a pretty good idea of the cost and markup on commodity items. Companies have a pretty good idea what their competitors will bid. The choice of supplier is typically down to quality of service.

Consultants and auditors may have no idea of the real world. A couple of months ago, a Tax Payers Alliance “report” declared that hospitals have multiple suppliers of latex gloves and that this is an inefficiency. The opposite is true, most likely; hospitals do not buy latex gloves directly from manufacturers, so purchase from multiple sources suggests that hospitals are buying a commodity at the spot price market.

The electricity bill for the university where I work will increase by 30% shortly, even though we are reducing consumption. The reasons are simple: the energy manager negotiated a good contract five years ago and it is implausible that any supplier will match the former terms. In Tax Payer Alliance terms, that is diminished purchasing efficiency.

Chiselling suppliers down a smidge is helpful but will never deliver massive savings. Savings have to be delivered in other ways. (Paul and I will disagree whether it is possible for public bodies to deliver savings plus services, and it is not the time for that argument.)

I think using fake stats in that way is outrageous, indeed it is lying to the public. But just a short note to say that personal insults about Mr. P’s weight are also unacceptable; by all means attack a person’s actions or opinions but resorting to fatism is extraordinarily unhelpful.

It really does look like Pickles is losing it – Opera Solutions are very small and fringe-y, even in management consultancy circles, weird to be relying on such a slim bit of fluff from a very small firm.

Well of course the media will ignore it because most of them support the tories. So no change there then.

The tory party gets a free pass as always.

Pickles – round and sour, and when you peel off the outer layer you find more outer layers underneath. Not incisive, but I couldn’t resist …

The Department for Communities and Local Government is a waste of public money. Outsource Pickles’ Propaganda Platform to the TPA.

“What it should do is call for Pickles resignation, on the basis that he has misled millions of people via his Department’s press release into thinking they can get something for nothing, and that he can reduce council budgets by a further 20% without affecting frontline services.”

^This. Please.

The tories’ lack of real world business acumen never ceases to surprise.

@ Blackwillo1: Excellant post, I cant top that

”New Labour practically invented the art”

They did I am afraid and it has come back to haunt us