Gekko Gove spearheading ‘corporate raid’ on social services
Writing for politics.co.uk, BASW Chief Executive Bridget Robb assesses a week of 'Govian spin' and the Department for Education's hijacking of the press conference into the Hamzah Khan Serious Case Review.
When assessing Michael Gove's outer demeanour, few would liken him to Gordon Gekko, infamous villain of 1980s paean to greed Wall Street.
Yet when it comes to systematically dismantling entire professions, he is as ruthless and slick as any City shark. He's successfully savaged teachers, and now he's circling around social workers.
As any good corporate raider knows, a successful takeover requires manipulating the target’s worth. Trashing reputations drives down share prices and results in little resistance when you then mount your attack.
When it comes to our public services, Gove's tactics are simple, yet done so skilfully that your average citizen is unaware that they are being bombarded with very sophisticated propaganda.
Let’s look at Gove's spin operation in this week alone.