[arethuza]

Public sector spending and working practices had been out of control for years - it was clear to anyone with any knowledge of how the public sector worked that it couldn't go on for ever and when it stopped things would be ugly.

There is no doubt that there are a lot of people in the public sector who deliver a lot of value. However, there are also a lot of organisations and people who clearly aren't - a tidy out was long overdue.

[bruceboughton]

You assume that this tidy out will get rid of more of the latter (the unproductive ones) than the former (the value-producing ones).

[arethuza]

Indeed, a politically astute friend point out that the first reaction of managers would be to cut productive first line services first. The so called "Washington Monument Syndrome":

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument_Syndrome

Of course, managers who act this way should be the first ones kicked out...