UNITED KINGDOM
United Kingdom Government plans to use a Treasury analysis to attack the Opposition Labour Party’s spending plans have been abandoned after intervention by the country’s top Public Servant.
Sir Mark Sedwill (pictured), ruled that the publication of the analysis with only weeks to go before the 12 December General Election would contravene the caretaker convention, known in the UK as Purdah.
Government sources said Sir Mark blocked the documents being released after a last-minute call with Shadow Chancellor, John McDonnell amid criticism that the Public Service was being used for political aims in close proximity to the election.
The intervention, which is understood to have enraged Chancellor, Sajid Javid, effectively blew apart Conservative plans to open their election campaign with a blitz of attacks on Labour’s economic credibility.
Sources said the Treasury analysis had been completed after weeks of work, while Mr Javid is understood to have been so confident it would be released that he told the Cabinet it would be published within hours.
A Labour source said it was an embarrassing slapdown for Conservative Ministers who were blatantly trying to use the Public Service for political purposes.
Mr McDonnell is believed to have personally complained to the Head of Treasury, Sir Tom Scholar, hours before the planned launch of the costings.
Meanwhile the term, Purdah, has come under fire as sexist and offensive.
In the British political sense, Purdah refers to the restrictions Ministers and Public Servants are under ahead of a General Election.
However, behavioural scientist, Pragya Agarwal tweeted that the word was problematic given its old colonial overtones and relating to the controversial practice of secluding women.
“Do we want to use a word that celebrates the imperial rule in Indian subcontinent?” Dr Agarwal asked.
London, 7 November, 2019
