Jobs for the Boys...and some gals.

The leadership acceptance speech of Tony Blair (12 years ago!) July 21, 1994.

"..... we reject the desire of Governments to centralise, that we will not run the quango state of the Tories with different managers, we will get rid of it and return power to local people over local services."

The Public Bodies Directory 2006, is available as aPDF (3.6 Gb)

Public Bodies are defined as ....

"bodies which have a role in the processes of national Government, but are not a Government department or part of one, and which accordingly operate to a greater or lesser extent at arm's length from Ministers."

More popularly Quasi Autonomous Government Organisations - QUANGO's

There are 822 quangos / Bodies in England and Wales , 229 set up by Labour and nearly 30 produced in the last year. They consume at least £123.8 Bn which has doubled in the last two years.

There is of course a Scottish Bodies Directory which you may consult as well, which last year consumed a measly £10.5 Bn. One Advisory body is mysteriously entitled the "Fisheries (Electricity) Committee "..... Quite simply they "advise Ministers and the developers of proposed hydro-electric power schemes on their possible effect on fisheries."

"...we will not run the quango state of the Tories with different managers, we will get rid of it and return power to local people over local services."

Quite so, Tony, Quite so.