Brown speaks on efficiency in government

I am at an Institute for Government-facilitated event – the Institute is the latest piece of Lord Sainsbury munificence to our political system (he propped up Labour’s finances, kept the SDP alive at one time, and is now devoting money here in part to improve the workings of the next government).

Tory MPs who have never known ministerial office are to be seen regularly turning up for classes in how to govern at the Institute’s offices.

Gordon Brown is about to lecture on efficiency in government. We know from the trails that he is not emphasising the pain of all this – tricky balancing act this as you could say that suggests he has presided over a period of great waste.

As for the attack on bankers’ bonuses… I think there was panic in some quarters of Whitehall about some misleading weekend reports that the Chancellor was going to go for a windfall tax on banks’ profits.

Going for individual bankers’ bonuses with some sort of specific, short-term, super tax where they are judged to have over-egged things is, I hear, very much on the agenda.

Accountants and lawyers say it’s riddled with difficulties. It could be something that doesn’t raise much revenue but is designed to head off excessive bonuses and, of course, chime with the public mood.

I am told the PBR main document doesn’t go to the printers till tomorrow.