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Another day, another MP announces his departure.

.

It didn't come as a great surprise.

He's been retreating into the background for a while now.

I suspect the final straw for the likes of Blairites like Byers and Alan Milburn was the failure of the last plot to remove Gordon Brown earlier this year.

Mind you, I'm also still waiting for him to reveal what was in his letter from Sir Thomas Legg.

He was one of the MPs regularly claiming more than £2000 a year for cleaning his London home.

If he did claim for all five years, he should have to pay money back, but he has yet to say anything on the matter.

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Bureaucrats, back office workers, pen-pushers.

Politicians seem very fond of saying it's that kind of worker who can be got rid of to help save money and make government more efficient.

It's often talked about at national level, but also now amongst our councils.

- Newcastle, North Tyneside and South Tyneside.

Each time we're told this is streamlining and that "front-line" services will be protected.

But does that hold water?

If these people were easily expendable, why were they there in the first place?

As one councillor pointed out to me this week, those "back office bureaucrats" often provide the support needed by those at the front line.

He has a point. Teachers need office staff to look after the admin so they can educate our children; social workers need support to free their time up to deal with vulnerable people.

But equally some of our councils do think that they can save money by working more intelligently.

Librarians could advise on housing benefits, your community centre could also deal with housing enquiries.

That's behind something called .

The idea is to avoid duplication of efforts by public sector organisations and charities.

It's being trialled in Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Durham.

Some council leaders are enthusiastic, others see it as a back door way of cutting government grants.

Expect a lot more of this as public spending gets tighter and tighter.

The Moss Week:

Reading: . Yes, I know I'm hopelessly late to this. But it is a fascinating insight into what makes the World's most powerful man tick.

Watching: . There's a bit of in all of us.

Still just about cheering on: - with some reservations now as I have a feeling they might make Simon Cowell some money. ().

I'm sticking to my guns though . Is that allowed?

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