Jance Turner on the ONS and policy capture

[Igneococcus]

Times today:

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/af930952-88fa-11eb-8b38-e2425c3b9f1b?shareToken=fc02e21a7a7a5ab6decd535ec7ce722f

That’s a good article.

Excellent article thank you for sharing OP

Well said Janice. Thank you for sharing OP.

Yes, good clear hard-hitting prose.

"It exposes the depth of civil service policy capture"

I'd quote more but can't grab the text.
Yup, I used to work for the ONS. I finally lost it with them when Holocaust memorial Day came around, and there was a really long article on their intranet about it (together with the appropriate grainy picture). And yes, according to the ONS, it was all about the murder of non-binary non-conforming persons. Yes folks, that was it. No mention AT ALL of any other victims, not even a particular race...

Good grief oldwoman that’s awful.

Thx @AnneListersHat yup. You couldn't make it up, could you. Particularly as my grandparents, & family were all murdered in the particular event they were busy trivialising. AND NONE OF THEM WERE NON BINARY
Sorry for shouting. It upset me so much at the time.

So, good to see the ONS hauled over the coals.

Non binary people didn't exist during the Holocaust "NB gender" is a naval gazing millennials invention

Good piece Janice as ever

"Increasingly the political divide is not between left and right but between those who uphold objectivity, data, evidence and rule of law versus those who will jettison everything, even science and reason, for ideology. If we cannot trust our gold-standard data body to defend facts against political interests, we are truly lost."

Absolutely great article.

Janice Turner gets it spot on. Read more about what was happening behind the scenes here. From Fair Play For Women:

t.co/gCaS1nSbmU

Yet another excellent article from Janice.

Thanks for the token. I hope the heads of some of our public organisations read it and squirm.

Increasingly the political divide is not between left and right but between those who uphold objectivity, data, evidence and rule of law versus those who will jettison everything, even science and reason, for ideology.
I'm going to try and learn that by heart. It applies to a number of threads on here at the moment.

Thanks for doing the work Janice, hugely grateful

Excellent article.
Totally spot on.
Good comments.

Given the serious nature of JT’s criticism, one would expect Ian Diamond to attempt some sort of reasoned rebuttal.

If he doesn’t, the silence will be deafening !

@howard97A

Given the serious nature of JT’s criticism, one would expect Ian Diamond to attempt some sort of reasoned rebuttal.

If he doesn’t, the silence will be deafening !

ISWYM - and I'd be startled if Prof Diamond had any that he had withheld from QC Eadie when ONS and other govt. depts. were defending this recently.

That comment that the various departments are paying Stonewall so that Stonewall can lobby them -- it's happened before, just not so blatantly as with Stonewall. Giving government grants to various lobbying organisations has been going on at least all century.

Brilliant.

She's awesome, such a voice of reason.

Good comments too.

One of which led me to look up his Aberdeen University post.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/politics/scottish-politics/2752462/sir-ian-diamond-aberdeen/amp/

Fantastic article.

That comment that the various departments are paying Stonewall so that Stonewall can lobby them -- it's happened before, just not so blatantly as with Stonewall. Giving government grants to various lobbying organisations has been going on at least all century.

Tobacco, oil and the big four accountancy firms spring to mind

Utterly brilliant Janice as always - and where are the other journalists who should be champing at the bit on such a big story?

This to me says it all - repeating other posters above and bears repeating
Increasingly the political divide is not between left and right but between those who uphold objectivity, data, evidence and rule of law versus those who will jettison everything, even science and reason, for ideology. If we cannot trust our gold-standard data body to defend facts against political interests, we are truly lost.

So utterly chilling

That comment that the various departments are paying Stonewall so that Stonewall can lobby them -- it's happened before, just not so blatantly as with Stonewall. Giving government grants to various lobbying organisations has been going on at least all century.

And paying them to deliver training to your company/dept. is just yet another way to provide legitimate donations.

*Given the serious nature of JT’s criticism, one would expect Ian Diamond to attempt some sort of reasoned rebuttal.

If he doesn’t, the silence will be deafening !*

He had nothing to say on Marr last weekend.

I really hope that those politicians who do stand for the upholding of “objectivity, data, evidence and the rule of law” make themselves more prominent so we can choose to vote for them rather than the ones “who will jettison everything, even science and reason for an ideology”.