A suggested government ban on rainbow-coloured lanyards in the civil service has, perhaps unsurprisingly, proved divisive at the highest reaches of government. The idea for the ban came from Esther McVey, officially a minister without portfolio but more widely known as ‘the minister for common sense’.
In a speech on Monday, McVey suggested that permanent secretaries in government departments would take action against staff wearing anything other than officially branded lanyards as part of reforms to stop ‘the inappropriate backdoor politicisation of the civil service’. She accused civil servants who used messaging on lanyards of engaging in ‘political activism in a visible way’. Any offenders would be provided with new ones by their civil service bosses.
It is further evidence of an administration that is tired, out of ideas and counting down the days until the election
Plain enough, or so you might think. Yet it now turns out that new diversity guidance issued to civil servants today steers clear of any mention of lanyards, offending or otherwise.
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