As the two-way (un)popularity contest continues in the Cabinet, construction鈥檚 main man pats the industry on the head and a sustainability expert calls for the chancellor to get his cheque book out
Remembering David Kelly
Hansom would like to pay tribute to Irish actor David Kelly, who died this week at the age of 82. Kelly enjoyed a varied career on stage and screen, including as Grandpa Joe in Tim Burton鈥檚 2005 remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. But perhaps his most famous role was the cowboy builder O鈥橰eilly in the Fawlty Towers episode The Builders in 1975.
As many will remember, Basil hires O鈥橰eilly to carry out work on the hotel, predictably setting off a series of disasters. Kelly himself often remarked that he had performed on stage for more than 50 years but it was those nine minutes as a stereotype in Fawlty Towers that made him recognisable all over the world.
A right Pickle
Sometimes the capacity of our elected officials to disappoint me reaches new levels. First, it was cash for questions. Then it was MPs鈥 expenses. And now, this. In June 2010, shortly after the coalition came to power, communities secretary Eric Pickles and communities minister Andrew Stunell met to discuss their respective roles within the department. The conversation, as Stunell recounted at a conference at the BRE last week, went like this: 鈥淚 asked, 鈥榳ho is going to be doing 黑洞社区 Regulations?鈥 鈥榃hat are they?鈥 asked Pickles.鈥
At least you know that if you don鈥檛 like something in the revised regulations, due to be published later this year, you needn鈥檛 blame Pickles because there鈥檚 a good chance he didn鈥檛 know anything about it.
Unlucky with Gove
Still with Pickles, Hansom noted last week the continuing battle between him and education secretary Michael Gove to be Whitehall鈥檚 worst boss, with both ministers presiding over departments with falling morale and an exodus of top civil servants. It was interesting then, to read in a Sunday newspaper that Pickles regards Gove as his 鈥減ersonal hero鈥 for the work he is doing in the Department for Education. Sadly for Pickles, the feeling is not quite mutual. Gove asserted the same week that his hero was Sir Michael Wilshaw, head of the Mossbourne Academy in Hackney and the new boss of Ofsted. Pickles, it seems, has more to do to catch Gove鈥檚 glad eye. I鈥檓 sure the civil servants in the communities department are trembling at the thought 鈥
Straight from the top
Stop panicking about the take-up of the Green Deal! Everything is under control and normal service will be resumed shortly - or at least it will be if the government listens to David Adams, director at the Zero Carbon Hub and head of retrofit at Willmott Dixon Re-Thinking.
Adams suggests that the government should use the scheme鈥檚 拢200m fund to give homeowners a cash back incentive.
But he knows this won鈥檛 be enough on its own and suggests the scheme should have the chancellor of the exchequer鈥檚 fingerprints all over it so the humble consumer can do a bit of gloating.
鈥淧eople should get a cheque with George Osborne鈥檚 signature on it,鈥 he says.
No woman, no cry
First it was David Cameron, with an ill-advised comment in prime minister鈥檚 questions last year. Now it seems our own chief construction adviser, Paul Morrell, has had an attack of the Michael Winners. Speaking at the launch of the government鈥檚 latest update to his construction strategy last week, he said that the industry had got over-excited about BIM, and that he鈥檇 had to issue a 鈥渃alm down, dear鈥 message to 鈥渉ysterical鈥 consultants and contractors. To be fair, while Cameron aimed the patronising phrase at female shadow treasury chief secretary Angela Eagle, Morrell made clear his warning was 鈥渢otally non gender-specific鈥. But, given the continuing failure of the industry to recruit a significant number of female senior executives, it would be difficult to find a female to accuse him of being patronising to.
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