Lord Bonkers' Diary: Ofwat, Ofgem, Ofthis, Ofthat

I find this entry interesting. Lord Bonkers, I know, was a leader of the campaign against Labour's ill-fated nationalisation of the Stilton industry after 1945, yet here he is criticising the privatisations of the Thatcher government.

Thursday

When the Conservatives sold off our public utilities we were assured the new private operators would live in fear of their regulators. The mere mention of them, we were told, would send non-executive directors home to live quietly with their mothers. The reality has been that the regulators - Ofwat, Ofgem, Ofthis, Ofthat - have been treated by the operators with contumely and derision: I would be hard put to say which is the more disagreeable.

This morning, as I walk by the shores of Rutland Water, the answer comes to me. We need a new regulatory body to monitor the performance of the regulators. I spend the rest of the day writing a paper for the Federal Policy Committee on my proposal for an Ofof.

Lord Bonkers was Liberal MP for Rutland South West, 1906-10.

Earlier this week...

• The other animals would lay their disputes before the kangaroos
• One of Violent Bonham Carter’s boys