Boring but important...........

Did you know..

That in 1975, 25% of civil service time was taken up with industrial relations, that 25% in 2010 was taken up with rewriting EU regulations (during which process they put on  a deal of weight – the regulations, that is, not the pen-pushers)?

That HMG has agreed to hand over to Brussels air passenger details that will include name, travel companion, addresses, credit card details and what you eat? So any police force in the EU will be able to download your personal information.

That the RN has to get clearance from London before it can intervene in a Somali pirate raid? Office hours only, then!

That industrial output as a factor of GNP fell by 50% during the Labour government, and that industrial employment also halved?

That the tax on North Sea oil is now 82%, higher even than under Labour? The inevitable outcome is that marginal wells are no longer being exploited, investment has dried up, and the life expectancy of the field is shortened. A major gas field is about to be shut down as it is barely profitable and uncertainty over tax policy means that the drilling companies are inclined to play safe. Well done, Little George!

That Abbottabad was named after its founder, Major Abbott, who was the Deputy District Commissioner under the raj and an even worse poet than McGonagall?