Is the ONS a politically aligned office?

[Suff]

We now hear that the manufacturing sector is doing well, inflation is reaching a plateau and that not only did we not have a triple dip recession but, in fact, the figures for 2011/13, on review, will be revised up and it may be that we have had no recession at all under the Coalition.

Now my memory is not very good and I haven't had a good look for the figures. But as I recall it, the ONS figures for Labour were Always revised down. Yet the ONS figures for the Tories have Always been revised up. Without fail!

The Labour party has made much hay about the so called "recessions" or near recessions due to the Tory Austerity policies. Yet, it would appear, that the good stewardship of this government has actually navigated a very choppy sea in terms of World and EU markets. In fact the Eurozone is now descending into a very serious recession specifically because they did not embrace austerity overall and address the overspending inherent in every country in the Eurozone.

Were I Osborne, I'd be asking for resignations for "comprehensively failing in their duty". Although they have been extremely successful in handing out political influence....

[KateLMead]

So is UKIP now out of the running suff?

[Suff]

No what I'm saying is that the statistics the ONS provide appear to be politically motivated to damage the coalition yet were politically motivated to support Labour when they were in power.

If this is the case then there need to be dismissals. But that would be seen as political interference in a "supposedly" politically neutral statistics body.

It occurs to me that the Blair/Brown machine did not just corrupt the BBC, but just about every other avenue of public offices. The best I could think the Coalition could do is to disband the ONS and replace them with a "more relevant" body. The same with every other public body which is telling lies for political alignment.

This is not just because of the impact to the coalition. I was annoyed when they kept on telling lies for Blair, to help him along. I suspect, fairly strongly, that this is the reason the Governor of the BOE is an outsider. Someone not tainted by 13 years of Blairite poison.

[Workingman]

I do not understand.

It was Labour which brought in the legislation to make the ONS politically independent, yet since then it has been used as a political football by all sides.

The one thing I really do not get is why statistics that are not finalised are used to define where we are economically. We get situations where initial figures show receession by 0.3%. The next interpretation, with more information, shows recession, but only at 0.1%. However, the finalised figures show growth of 0.1%.

The problem there is that over the months from first interpretation to finalisation we look to be in recession - with all the negatives that entails - when in fact we had growth.

It is time to stop the drip-feed and only give the final figures - as used to be the case.

[Suff]

Independence is not equivalent to telling lies to advance political agenda's.

But that is what they are doing. By releasing early, unconfirmed data for Labour with high estimates, they swayed public opinion. Very few listen to the corrections, most only listen to the headlines.

For Labour this was always high.
For the Coalition this is always low.

In my mind this is acting to a political agenda. Not independence.

[Workingman]

In my mind this is acting to a political agenda....

I am not that sure, but I do hate with a vengeance this constant leaking out of partial information, info which the media makes merry with. Then, when it all turns out to have been wrong, nothing is said to correct the negative impressions given, and by that time the damage has been done.

[TheOstrich]

Disclosure under the Freedom of Partial Information Act ?

[cromwell]

Independence is not equivalent to telling lies to advance political agenda's.

But that is what they are doing. By releasing early, unconfirmed data for Labour with high estimates, they swayed public opinion. Very few listen to the corrections, most only listen to the headlines.

For Labour this was always high.
For the Coalition this is always low.

In my mind this is acting to a political agenda. Not independence.

Labour's idea of "Independent" is - "One of our mates who we can rely on to deliver the result we want". Think of 'Lord' Triesman, first "independent" Chairman of the FA, or of all of the "Independent" inquiries into the Iraq war - every one of which delivered the result that the Labour Government wanted.

Politicians, and Labour politicians especially, do not belive in independence, thay believe in control - their control.

[Workingman]

I am not sure that the ONS is politically motivated to attack the Tories or promote Labour, nor am I that bothered, However, the system it is working to could be damaging to the country, and that does worry me. Basing forecasts on partial data is like declaring the winner of the Grand National four furlongs from home

From the outside looking in the UK must seem like a basket case, one that is unable to tell whether it is coming or going from one month to the next. Outside markets might as well deal with the UK based on their prejudices and what they think might happen and not on the reality of the situation.