http://www.ft.com/sue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/rss/sue-cameron-notebookFT.com - Sue Cameron's Notebooken© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. See http://www.ft.com/servicestools/help/terms#legal1 for the terms and conditions of reuse.client.support@ft.com (Client Support)Tue, 1 Dec 2009 21:47:59 +0000Wed, 2 Dec 2009 20:52:28 +0000Newspapers15http://news.ft.com/cms/d1f3ce1a-6bbe-11da-bb53-0000779e2340.gifhttp://www.ft.com/sue-cameron-notebook(PICS-1.1 "http://www.classify.org/safesurf/" L gen true for "http://www.ft.com/" r (SS~~000 1))http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/0e197f38-dead-11de-adff-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0e197f38-dead-11de-adff-00144feab49a.htmlAs the Treasury minister limbers up to axe a few quangos next week, he will be hoping no doubt that the public does not discover the truth about our quango state. It is scary stuff, writes Sue Cameron Tue, 1 Dec 2009 21:47:59 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/93306960-d936-11de-b2d5-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/93306960-d936-11de-b2d5-00144feabdc0.htmlSir John Chilcot has assured us that his inquiry into the Iraq war will not be a whitewash. Other inquiries have pulled punches but there is hope that this time things will be different, writes Sue Cameron Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:34:59 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/ef4de166-d3ad-11de-8caf-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ef4de166-d3ad-11de-8caf-00144feabdc0.htmlThe very term 'civil service of the State' sounds sinister. Her Majesty should put her foot down, writes Sue Cameron Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:49:06 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/e8bdb2b0-ce2e-11de-a1ea-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e8bdb2b0-ce2e-11de-a1ea-00144feabdc0.htmlA heavy-duty tome launched by the Institute for Government looks at changes in government in Britain and not so surprisingly has much in common with Yes Minister, says Sue Cameron Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:24:44 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/55ca9a0a-c8c9-11de-8f9d-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/55ca9a0a-c8c9-11de-8f9d-00144feabdc0.htmlThere seems to be a certain scepticism about Tory plans to give business greater sway over Whitehall, a move that could give outsiders rights to demand the sacking of top civil servants, says Sue Cameron Wed, 4 Nov 2009 03:40:07 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e33e600-c34b-11de-8eca-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7e33e600-c34b-11de-8eca-00144feab49a.htmlFormer mandarins, who once wielded such power in the corridors of Whitehall, are still causing headaches for Gordon Brown's beleaguered government, writes Sue Cameron Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:07:35 +0000http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/3f02d9ac-bda9-11de-9f6a-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3f02d9ac-bda9-11de-9f6a-00144feab49a.htmlMost of the nation's 790 quangos are desperate to talk to top Conservatives, who have said that they want to institute a big cull in quango numbers, writes Sue Cameron Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:42:19 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/4e79cf1e-b82a-11de-8ca9-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4e79cf1e-b82a-11de-8ca9-00144feab49a.htmlSurely Sir Gus O'Donnell, would not try to shuffle off the blame for the Damian Green affair on one of his minions instead of making it clear to everyone that he was the one who authorised calling in the police?Tue, 13 Oct 2009 22:55:04 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/999d71ba-b2aa-11de-b7d2-00144feab49a.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/999d71ba-b2aa-11de-b7d2-00144feab49a.htmlIt was not the MI5 people who objected to the new history of their organisation, published this week, but other Whitehall departments, writes Sue Cameron Tue, 6 Oct 2009 22:44:17 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/6eca22e4-ad28-11de-9caf-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6eca22e4-ad28-11de-9caf-00144feabdc0.htmlSue Cameron hears that top civil servants have started an all too lively fightback against Sir Gus O'Donnell's proposal for a 'revolution' in spendingTue, 29 Sep 2009 23:20:03 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/e1051616-a7a6-11de-b0ee-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e1051616-a7a6-11de-b0ee-00144feabdc0.htmlDavid Cameron seems to have based his speech about cutting the cost of politics on one of TV's legendary Yes, Minister scripts and though it has its funny side it could be a bad omen, says Sue Cameron Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:36:29 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/bc517e22-9725-11de-83c5-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bc517e22-9725-11de-83c5-00144feabdc0.htmlWhen it comes to releasing ailing prisoners on grounds of compassion, how would you describe the policy of Jack Straw, the justice secretary, writes Sue Cameron. Compare and contrast the cases of Ronnie Biggs and Abdelbasset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi Tue, 1 Sep 2009 22:50:51 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/a19211a0-91a3-11de-879d-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a19211a0-91a3-11de-879d-00144feabdc0.htmlThe arid days of August are being enlivened by a broadside from senior mandarins against presidential prime ministers and their party political hangers on, write Sue Cameron Tue, 25 Aug 2009 21:56:53 +0100http://traxfer.ft.com/cms/s/0/09cb2eae-7625-11de-9e59-00144feabdc0.html?o=%2Frss%2Fsue-cameron-notebookhttp://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/09cb2eae-7625-11de-9e59-00144feabdc0.htmlAs politicians break for summer, ways to improve parliament are being bandied about, such as imposing Canadian-style spending cuts, writes Sue Cameron Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:16:26 +0100