David Walker

David Walker is managing director, communications and public reporting, at the Audit Commission

Selling off the silver, by David Walker

As Conservative leader David Cameron’s fortunes soar, the citation count for a predecessor of his – Harold Macmillan – has also risen. Now, to Macmillan’s nonchalant remarks about the public debt (its growth never seemed to bring the promised ruin), we need to add the great stylist’s response to Thatcher era privatisation. Macmillan disapproved, sniffing that selling assets smacked of the sort of desperation seen in individuals or states with serious financial problems. ‘First of all, the Georgian silver goes. And then all that nice furniture that used to be in the salon. Then the Canalettos go.’ Read more...

14 October 2009 | David Walker

Subjects: Central government, Local government, Professional issues, Public spending
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Demos revisited, by David Walker

Polemic is good fun. More urgent – and more demanding – is clear thinking about risk, its mitigation through regulation, and how much local variance in risk the public and their representatives want. Read more...

28 September 2009 | David Walker

Subjects: Central government, Professional issues
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Demos deconstructed, by David Walker

It’s open season on quangos, and Demos (a little tardily) has joined the hunt. Congratulations to the struggling think-tank for securing a slot on the Today programme this morning and a ream of publicity. Read more...

22 September 2009 | David Walker

Subjects: Central government, Economy, Local government, Professional issues, Regulation
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Flogging a dead horse on lean thinking, by David Walker

I used to think journalists were great ecologists, when I was one – they were forever recycling old material. But John Seddon’s letter in Public Finance (‘Audit Commission needs to back off’, July 17) offered you yet another version of what he’s been recently pushing around the local government press, which he has been flogging for a long time. It’s a dead horse. Read more...

21 July 2009 | David Walker

Subjects: Local government
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