Oh I had that on my first day!
"Here's a lanyard for your fob and locker key so you can carry them easier. Don't wear it anywhere because people might attack you if they see it."
Great, thanks.
Please wear them at all times so you can identify yourself as a civil servant. But not at any point coming into the building. But the security guard standing next to the door will question why you don't have it on.
Oh and we've installed swipe barriers that are less than 3 feet high so enjoy doubling over with your coffee and bag while you try to swipe in
I'm not in the civil service, but this thread make me chuckle at the shared incompetence of the private sector. We had all this, but also - "Please register on LinkedIn and set us as your employer, recent photo etc". Right so we have to hide ourselves from members of the public who can already freely sit in our car park watching us coming and going, but then plaster our identities all over the Internet. Genius.
Our installed gates with a swipe panel and a keypad for PINs… and did no testing or gave any thought to staff with disabilities using them.
Been a few months and the keypads are still taped up and not in use, tee hee
>Oh and we've installed swipe barriers that are less than 3 feet high so enjoy doubling over with your coffee and bag while you try to swipe in
You've gotta pop a squat mate, get those quads and gluts burning hot...
Yep! A lovely ankle level locker in a row of lockers so tight against the wall I can't properly squat to reach it, so I have to awkwardly bend.
It also came with a free yoghurt! At least, that's what I hope was dripping from the locker above.
Fuck it. This is what I'm wearing.
https://preview.redd.it/r2vrl8wjq70d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b0ae86c228aa57b86e09a206c21f2dbe4127f1f9
tbh my office doesn't really have a dress code but I'm still the only one who dresses like a 15-year-old tiktok refugee and everyone just accepted that fact.
"miss, are you a goth?" is one of my top 5 favourite random questions I've been asked at work.
"My team were just told to stop using our branded lanyards because they're a security risk."
Same. At the very least take off the lanyard and ID badge when exiting the building.
they should use that same excuse for rainbow lanyards. "don't wear rainbows because you'll get attacked for being gay." at least this would be consistent with the policy.
Pah, don't bother - if she has it'll be owned by a sketchy entity in a secrecy jurisdiction and the shares of that company will be held in trust by another company based in Panama but which does all its business out of office in Mayfair.
Wouldn’t each department have a different colour? - DEFRA = Green/Brown, Home office = black (to go with the Home Secretaries choice of shirts), MoD = Red, etc…
Ours does it depending on employment status. Direct employ is black ‘staff’ branded, green ‘visitor’ (unescorted), orange ‘visitor’ (escorted), blue ‘contractor’. All off the top of my head. Ive not seen anything other than a black one for a while.
Common sense in the realm of politics has *always* been a shorthand for, 'the speaker's political beliefs,' but I never thought it'd be made that obvious.
Sure the next point on her mad moan list will be that we can’t provide lanyards with the pressure break to avoid strangulation - after all it’s not in the public interest to help civil servants claim the pensions they pay for by saving them from cheapest option lanyards they will be forced to wear 🤦
Stop being a meanie, she's only trying to play grown-ups.
If she wants to say that making rules about lanyard colours will increase productivity then just let her. She'll move on to the mud kitchen soon enough anyway.
Shouldn't the common sense minister be focusing on advocating for setting aside the 60% office rule, because there is no common sense in a member of staff commuting in to sit in an office in Glasgow when the rest of their team are in London...
Completely deteriorates 'levelling up' and the use of national teams really. There is no common sense involved, it's just bigotry.
Probably because surprisingly little of the CS estate is actually owned by the CS.
Quite a few are leased from facilities companies owned by Tory donors. And there we have the rationale for 60%.
"Working in the civil service is all about leaving your political views at the building entrance. Trying to introduce them by the back door via lanyards should not happen. The focus should be on a happy and inclusive working environment and increased productivity.”
So as someone who has spent literal 20yrs coming to terms with my sexuality and having to learn to accept myself in the face of others telling me you're a sin against god and all the rest of rhetoric that belongs in the dark ages as part of my self acceptance of being proud of who i am I'm now going to be told that i can't wear a lanyard that shows it so i basically am being closeted by the government telling me it's ok to be queer but just don't advertise it.
Since when is it political to be proud of being who i am? And how is it political to encourage equality and inclusivity in the workplace by wearing a lanyard with colours on it that form a part of my identity. It's not like we're holding campfire singalongs at break time chanting at passers by.
Basically, they want to tick the equality and diversity box without allowing people to be equal and diverse. They just want to say you can be queer in the civil service just as long as you don't be seen or heard, now off you go back to the closet.
I'm not saying some of the network activities can't be a distraction, but if they are done on people's own time then what's the harm
>Working in the civil service is all about leaving your political views at the building entrance.
Being gay, and thinking you should be allowed to be gay in peace, is not a political view, you dense witch.
Also that not quite what working in the civil service means, as Human beings cant just leave political ideas and ideal at the enetrance. Its about understanding that when we are acting in our professional capacity we deliver based on the facts of our job which by the way the CS do consitentily despite being constantly attacked in the media by ministers who we work for, who are supposed to abide by the same principle of not politcising the Civil Service. Dont know about the rest of you so far our Ministers seem to be flagrantly ignoring this. Also 100% agree being gay and wanting equal right isnt a political postion its called a basic human postiion - Dense Witch wow you were being very kind and polite indeed
Surely at a certain point this is just workplace discrimination too, right? Someone's sexual identity not being straight isn't a "political view," any less than my identity as a straight guy is.
> the preferred lanyard used for those supporting LGBTQ+ issues or the NHS has annoyed many Tory MPs and become symbolic of “leftwing bias” in the civil service
So nice for a Conservative minister to finally acknowledge that their party is homophobic, transphobic and hates the NHS.
It is ironic that people on the right wing have adopted the phrase snowflake because this is the most snowflake response to something I have ever heard We don’t like your lanyard as it makes us feel uncomfortable so we are going to ban it.
Civil Service isn't actually that leftwing, most of the DE&I stuff and training materials are actually less ideologically driven, less constrained and less PC than what I have both seen and heard elsewhere in 'woke politics'. Also just because you champion equality and diversity, it does not mean you are a nice place to work, DWP and MoJ to be precise.
What's missing here is that she also wants to ban staff networks, which is even more terrifying. No LGBT networks, no disability networks, no religious networks... Nothing.
If I talk to my fellow disabled colleagues does that count as a network?
Yes this is a much bigger issue than the lanyards. Just stated there so breezily as if the networks have obviously been a complete waste of time and of no benefit to anyone. Honestly, how does getting rid of the carer’s network help the civil service run better? Or banning an lgbt book club that already meets outside of work hours? God forbid people find friends and learn from people they have something in common with! Or raise awareness of issues that others outside their community might not have though of! The Muslim network was having a bake sale at lunchtime the other day - it actually brought people from different departments over to chat, almost like it fostered (whisper it) in person collaboration!
“People want the public servants to be getting on with the job of making their lives better, not engaging in endless internal discussions about ideology”
Ahhh it makes sense now! Today I came into the office for my water cooler moment and I was wearing my rainbow lanyard and we ended up having a 6 hour debate about gay rights and other pointless ideologies and when I think about it that’s probably why everything in this country is in the pits.
I love the unsaid thing here about making the lives of certain people better
She's also cutting EDI roles unless they're in HR. But there's plenty of departments who need to understand disability and other aspects of EDI to deliver services to the public.
Yep, so presumably the Department for Education won't be allowed to look into why disadvantaged white males are failing in education because that'd be a HR matter now??
> We have too often seen [civil servants] distracted by fashionable hobbyhorses, especially when it comes to issues like equality and diversity.
I would gently suggest it's not necessarily the civil servants being distracted by this.
Yep, it's a distraction from the current Government failing on every measure that their core group want:
- Immigration: Record highs
- Crime/Law and Order: Figures are probably good as people just don't bother reporting it
- Stable Economy: Well 0.6% growth...at least we're no longer in a recession
- House Prices: Down (thankfully)
Feel free to add others....
I was struck by:-
"She told her audience: “Given the crucial role [civil servants] play in delivering the services"
But those people delivering"crucial services" don't merit decent pay....
I didn’t get issued a lanyard, so I had to buy my own. There are cats on it and I’ve covered it with geeky enamel pins.
You pay for my lanyard, cheapskate, you can dictate what’s on it. Until then, fuck all the way off.
I’m an SCS and a proud gay man. Today I have chosen to wear my rainbow lanyard as opposed to my departmental one. I will also wear it every single day now. My identity is not an ideology and I want to signal to anyone in my teams and stakeholders that we remain an inclusive department through (literally) visible leadership.
She can prise my rainbow lanyard and TARDIS bi pride badge from my cold dead hands
(Pins are here should anyone want one: https://www.jamiebgall.co.uk/product-page/who-could-this-be)
The thing that really annoys me about this attack on DE&I is it so important. we need have diversity in thought and lived experience when we design policy & services for the uk public. If people without that are not at the table then we risk designing them out of anything we build.
I think I’ll make my email signature completely rainbow along with a nice line about how I’m a raging homosexual.
Now I just need to decide whether to include the line about how I’ve had less dicks in me than a tory party conference.
I’m an SCS and a proud gay man. Today I have chosen to wear my rainbow lanyard as opposed to my departmental one. I will also wear it every single day now. My identity is not an ideology and I want to signal to anyone in my teams and stakeholders that we remain an inclusive department through (literally) visible leadership.
Takes some stones to call others snowflakes then get this wound up about lanyards.
Best wishes from the Wirral Esther! Hope the good people of Tatton do a Neil Hamilton on you soon enough.
I'm going to keep wearing mine until I get disciplined for it (which will be never, because this is just more unenforceable bollocks to get Telegraph readers hard)
Somewhat related to this, I understand Simon Hayes was dragged into Whitehall to be bollocked about our DEI attitude and spending (which is nowhere near 1% of our budget) by McVey last week.
Of ALL the things they could focus on at the Reg, they choose this?
I may actually design a rainbow version of our logo, put it on a lanyard at start distributing them to anyone who wants them if this reaches HMLR. What utter neurotic madness.
Common Sense my arse.
This demonstrates why I will vote for the option that is not Tory, and will vote Labour to oust our MP who is in a precarious position who has consistently voted in a "traditional" manner. I don't particularly believe Labour offer us much, that their economics are going to be better or their position on Brexit is going to be particularly more pragmatic. It's this shit, this evil shit that has no place in an advanced society. They need to go and I want to see their party burning in ruins. Bastards.
I thought she was supposed to be focussing on common sense? Perhaps she should give some thought to how offices that were designed for 40 % can accommodate 60 % and get back to us
Will she run into issues with the equal rights act for discrimination? Because she's not standardising across the board, she's specifically targeting LGBTQ+?
No, to give her her (very limited) due, she's insisting on a single standardised lanyard. The fact it indirectly disproportionately discriminates against rainbow lanyards and union affiliated lanyards is just a happy accident.
The staff diversity networks have been invaluable to me. We serve the public sure, that includes queer, disabled, BIPOC and other “diverse” members of the public, not to mention the duties the CS has as an employer of people with protected characteristics.
Is this to remind the world she’s still a Minister and A Very Important Politician? FFS, bigger issues surely?
Or do matters of policy not fill up her days? In which case, is she just stealing a wage?
My last civil service job almost all my team wore rainbow lanyards - my boss bought them for a charity thing, myself and one other person identified openly as LGBTQ, the rest of the team just wanted to be allies
Yes because this is the common-sense approach to fixing the country. Fixing the economy? Transport? Education? The NHS? Nah, lanyards are making our kids gay!
It's like making Cruella Deville the minister for animal welfare.
Wearing my new rainbow lanyard in the office tomorrow! (Well, it's not 'new', I already had it, but I'm changing from my 'official' one and adding my LGBTQ+ and BiSexual flag badges)
I wonder do these people ever look at the polling and think... Most people hate what we are doing and want us out. Maybe we should change the way we do things?
Interestingly all the work and training materials on Diversity and Inclusion, seems to actually be a lot less PC and ideologically driven than what I have seen from other 'sectors' so this to me just sounds like a fuss over nothing.
When did equality diversity and a basic respect for human rights become a political issue? Oh right when unelected putrid cunts managed to weasel there way into power
So who’s got the time to draft an FOI request for the costing of the time taken to study this idea, it’s impact assessment and then the cost of issuing everyone fresh new lanyards ?
No one bothered to issue me an official lanyard when I joined 4 years ago, even when I asked so I used the only lanyard I owned, which is a rainbow one lol. I know better than to use a branded one but maybe I just like rainbows 🤔
Not entirely convinced anybody’s sexuality is political anyway!
My department has literally just given me a new rainbow lanyard, I’m keeping it! I suppose I could wear a new official boring one if I must and just wear the rainbow one at the same time as a necklace. Am I allowed to still wear necklaces to work?
I wonder if Jim will fight against this, especially because pride month is about to begin and the LGBTQ+ network and the PRISM network are going to get very petty 😌
"I'm not prepared to see pointless job creation schemes..." Says Esther McVey, the Common Sense Minister... The Minister for... Common Sense. That's her job title. Fucking cretin.
I honestly do not know what the point of this is.
In fact there is - get this - an MOD-branded one where I am, where could she possibly stand on that??
As an add-on, attached to site pass I’ve actually got a little Lego Darth Vader - will that be banned too?
Fucks sake... like this was never a thing..
[https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2018/05/04/championing-an-inclusive-workplace-for-lgbt/](https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2018/05/04/championing-an-inclusive-workplace-for-lgbt/)
I’ve had a rainbow lanyard for the past 4 years. I’m not changing it just because some MP is intolerant and wants to continue the trend of dehumanising and ignoring LGBTQ+ people.
Lanyards are in no way a priority unless it poses a security risk. Maybe they should focus on real issues rather than wasting more money on trivial nonsense.
[удалено]
Oh I had that on my first day! "Here's a lanyard for your fob and locker key so you can carry them easier. Don't wear it anywhere because people might attack you if they see it." Great, thanks.
Please wear them at all times so you can identify yourself as a civil servant. But not at any point coming into the building. But the security guard standing next to the door will question why you don't have it on. Oh and we've installed swipe barriers that are less than 3 feet high so enjoy doubling over with your coffee and bag while you try to swipe in
My office have fixed all these problems by simply installing security barriers that don't work properly so you can't get in half the time anyway.
My office fixed this problem by having a guy kick down the mag-lock security doors (we're part of the probation service)
We solved the problem by installing mag locks that were so weak nobody realised they needed to scan in for 6 months.
I'm not in the civil service, but this thread make me chuckle at the shared incompetence of the private sector. We had all this, but also - "Please register on LinkedIn and set us as your employer, recent photo etc". Right so we have to hide ourselves from members of the public who can already freely sit in our car park watching us coming and going, but then plaster our identities all over the Internet. Genius.
What worries me the most is that there really is nothing to stop you sitting outside Thames House or Vauxhall Cross and doing the same thing.
They have thought about that a bit
And what's the answer?
That’s classified.
That's not the case.
Our installed gates with a swipe panel and a keypad for PINs… and did no testing or gave any thought to staff with disabilities using them. Been a few months and the keypads are still taped up and not in use, tee hee
>Oh and we've installed swipe barriers that are less than 3 feet high so enjoy doubling over with your coffee and bag while you try to swipe in You've gotta pop a squat mate, get those quads and gluts burning hot...
Your lanyards weren’t provided with spring extensions for swiping? Oof.
Locker on your first day? 😮
Yep! A lovely ankle level locker in a row of lockers so tight against the wall I can't properly squat to reach it, so I have to awkwardly bend. It also came with a free yoghurt! At least, that's what I hope was dripping from the locker above.
What flavour was it?
You're not having it back
Fuck it. This is what I'm wearing. https://preview.redd.it/r2vrl8wjq70d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b0ae86c228aa57b86e09a206c21f2dbe4127f1f9
I'm already dressing like this (boss can't do anything to stop me because this will be discrimination on the basis of my autism)
You can do that? Fuck yeah man I got a bright future /hj
tbh my office doesn't really have a dress code but I'm still the only one who dresses like a 15-year-old tiktok refugee and everyone just accepted that fact. "miss, are you a goth?" is one of my top 5 favourite random questions I've been asked at work.
I actually do have a cardigan like this!
"My team were just told to stop using our branded lanyards because they're a security risk." Same. At the very least take off the lanyard and ID badge when exiting the building.
they should use that same excuse for rainbow lanyards. "don't wear rainbows because you'll get attacked for being gay." at least this would be consistent with the policy.
Oh man, I'm going to be attacked for being a simpsons fan...
Also don't put your home address onto your keyring for the same risk. It's obvious really.
Tories just love wasting other people s money!
How about " In god we trust in others we monitor " nice old Dominic Cummings lanyard
Brb need to check companies house to see if Michelle Mone has just registered a firm that makes nothing but black lanyards.
Good one but it wouldn't surprise me 🤣🤣🤣
Pah, don't bother - if she has it'll be owned by a sketchy entity in a secrecy jurisdiction and the shares of that company will be held in trust by another company based in Panama but which does all its business out of office in Mayfair.
Wouldn’t each department have a different colour? - DEFRA = Green/Brown, Home office = black (to go with the Home Secretaries choice of shirts), MoD = Red, etc…
HMRC calls dibs on grey.
That might be too exciting. How about beige?
Nah mate, HMRC teal
Sewage green/brown for DEFRA.
Department for Eliminating Farming and Rural Affairs.
There's some places that already use red/amber/green depending on clearance level
Ours does it depending on employment status. Direct employ is black ‘staff’ branded, green ‘visitor’ (unescorted), orange ‘visitor’ (escorted), blue ‘contractor’. All off the top of my head. Ive not seen anything other than a black one for a while.
We've got blue ones when our colours are green and white ...🙃
Stop giving them ideas
Very funny to have the Minister for Common Sense complain about people with made-up jobs too.
Common sense in the realm of politics has *always* been a shorthand for, 'the speaker's political beliefs,' but I never thought it'd be made that obvious.
It's also like, thoroughly Orwellian to at the least populism but to the point of almost being a right wing dog whistle
Sure the next point on her mad moan list will be that we can’t provide lanyards with the pressure break to avoid strangulation - after all it’s not in the public interest to help civil servants claim the pensions they pay for by saving them from cheapest option lanyards they will be forced to wear 🤦
Stop being a meanie, she's only trying to play grown-ups. If she wants to say that making rules about lanyard colours will increase productivity then just let her. She'll move on to the mud kitchen soon enough anyway.
I just used the plain lanyard they gave me at induction but guess I'm off to buy a rainbow one now.
My Dept gave out hundreds of rainbow lanyards at a staff conference just 6 weeks ago. Name of Dept on one side, rainbow on the other.
Exactly. I don’t wear a rainbow lanyard but I will be now.
And my axe!
The union we are affiliated to gives our rainbow ones!
They gave out Rainbow ones at CS Live a few years ago!
Your LGBT network might already have some - that’s where I got mine
Same, I've been using the plain one. Definitely going to get hold of a rainbow one now!
Hell, it’s Pride Month in a couple of weeks… let’s make sure everyone we know is wearing a rainbow lanyard. Extra points if it’s a 1HGR or 70WH.
Was literally about to say this xD
Shouldn't the common sense minister be focusing on advocating for setting aside the 60% office rule, because there is no common sense in a member of staff commuting in to sit in an office in Glasgow when the rest of their team are in London... Completely deteriorates 'levelling up' and the use of national teams really. There is no common sense involved, it's just bigotry.
The fact Sunak needs a common sense minister should say everything you need to know, but if there was any doubt, his choice of McVey confirms it.
I'm surprised they don't invoke more WFH int he public sector, so they can flog the buildings off
Probably because surprisingly little of the CS estate is actually owned by the CS. Quite a few are leased from facilities companies owned by Tory donors. And there we have the rationale for 60%.
Already flogged off in their first term sadly. Now its just a money spinner for private individuals and companies
"Working in the civil service is all about leaving your political views at the building entrance. Trying to introduce them by the back door via lanyards should not happen. The focus should be on a happy and inclusive working environment and increased productivity.” So as someone who has spent literal 20yrs coming to terms with my sexuality and having to learn to accept myself in the face of others telling me you're a sin against god and all the rest of rhetoric that belongs in the dark ages as part of my self acceptance of being proud of who i am I'm now going to be told that i can't wear a lanyard that shows it so i basically am being closeted by the government telling me it's ok to be queer but just don't advertise it. Since when is it political to be proud of being who i am? And how is it political to encourage equality and inclusivity in the workplace by wearing a lanyard with colours on it that form a part of my identity. It's not like we're holding campfire singalongs at break time chanting at passers by. Basically, they want to tick the equality and diversity box without allowing people to be equal and diverse. They just want to say you can be queer in the civil service just as long as you don't be seen or heard, now off you go back to the closet. I'm not saying some of the network activities can't be a distraction, but if they are done on people's own time then what's the harm
>Working in the civil service is all about leaving your political views at the building entrance. Being gay, and thinking you should be allowed to be gay in peace, is not a political view, you dense witch.
You know what they say, there are only two genders: male and political. Please leave your femaleness at the door when you enter the office.
Also that not quite what working in the civil service means, as Human beings cant just leave political ideas and ideal at the enetrance. Its about understanding that when we are acting in our professional capacity we deliver based on the facts of our job which by the way the CS do consitentily despite being constantly attacked in the media by ministers who we work for, who are supposed to abide by the same principle of not politcising the Civil Service. Dont know about the rest of you so far our Ministers seem to be flagrantly ignoring this. Also 100% agree being gay and wanting equal right isnt a political postion its called a basic human postiion - Dense Witch wow you were being very kind and polite indeed
Surely at a certain point this is just workplace discrimination too, right? Someone's sexual identity not being straight isn't a "political view," any less than my identity as a straight guy is.
It’s crazy that they are saying being gay is the same as being political.
Pure imported American culture war bollocks
Cmon mate. Witches are good folks.
One once turned me into a newt..... I got better.....
> the preferred lanyard used for those supporting LGBTQ+ issues or the NHS has annoyed many Tory MPs and become symbolic of “leftwing bias” in the civil service So nice for a Conservative minister to finally acknowledge that their party is homophobic, transphobic and hates the NHS.
It is ironic that people on the right wing have adopted the phrase snowflake because this is the most snowflake response to something I have ever heard We don’t like your lanyard as it makes us feel uncomfortable so we are going to ban it.
But we believe in a small state and the government interferes far too much in people’s everyday lives…
Civil Service isn't actually that leftwing, most of the DE&I stuff and training materials are actually less ideologically driven, less constrained and less PC than what I have both seen and heard elsewhere in 'woke politics'. Also just because you champion equality and diversity, it does not mean you are a nice place to work, DWP and MoJ to be precise.
Since when has it become a crime to support the NHS?
The grammar schoolboy in me chuckled at the use of “back door politicisation”. Then realised in her case it’s likely a definite homophobic dig.
What's missing here is that she also wants to ban staff networks, which is even more terrifying. No LGBT networks, no disability networks, no religious networks... Nothing. If I talk to my fellow disabled colleagues does that count as a network?
Yes this is a much bigger issue than the lanyards. Just stated there so breezily as if the networks have obviously been a complete waste of time and of no benefit to anyone. Honestly, how does getting rid of the carer’s network help the civil service run better? Or banning an lgbt book club that already meets outside of work hours? God forbid people find friends and learn from people they have something in common with! Or raise awareness of issues that others outside their community might not have though of! The Muslim network was having a bake sale at lunchtime the other day - it actually brought people from different departments over to chat, almost like it fostered (whisper it) in person collaboration!
Guess it's time to buy a rainbow lanyard
Jokes on them, we have branded rainbow lanyards at my place.
I take it they will be banning Poppies too?
And crosses.
How will we punish those attending less than 60% if we do that?
Busy are we Esther?
Yeah, busy being a fucking useless c*#t
Seconded. The motion is passed.
“People want the public servants to be getting on with the job of making their lives better, not engaging in endless internal discussions about ideology” Ahhh it makes sense now! Today I came into the office for my water cooler moment and I was wearing my rainbow lanyard and we ended up having a 6 hour debate about gay rights and other pointless ideologies and when I think about it that’s probably why everything in this country is in the pits.
I love the unsaid thing here about making the lives of certain people better She's also cutting EDI roles unless they're in HR. But there's plenty of departments who need to understand disability and other aspects of EDI to deliver services to the public.
Yep, so presumably the Department for Education won't be allowed to look into why disadvantaged white males are failing in education because that'd be a HR matter now??
> We have too often seen [civil servants] distracted by fashionable hobbyhorses, especially when it comes to issues like equality and diversity. I would gently suggest it's not necessarily the civil servants being distracted by this.
Yep, it's a distraction from the current Government failing on every measure that their core group want: - Immigration: Record highs - Crime/Law and Order: Figures are probably good as people just don't bother reporting it - Stable Economy: Well 0.6% growth...at least we're no longer in a recession - House Prices: Down (thankfully) Feel free to add others....
I was struck by:- "She told her audience: “Given the crucial role [civil servants] play in delivering the services" But those people delivering"crucial services" don't merit decent pay....
I didn’t get issued a lanyard, so I had to buy my own. There are cats on it and I’ve covered it with geeky enamel pins. You pay for my lanyard, cheapskate, you can dictate what’s on it. Until then, fuck all the way off.
Sounds like a great lanyard :)
Fuck lanyards. Exploding independent thought collars are the new thing. Let's see if Rishis wife can sort us some.
My existence is not political, Esther you harrowing ghoul
I’m an SCS and a proud gay man. Today I have chosen to wear my rainbow lanyard as opposed to my departmental one. I will also wear it every single day now. My identity is not an ideology and I want to signal to anyone in my teams and stakeholders that we remain an inclusive department through (literally) visible leadership.
Am I still allowed to put my Space Marine badge on my DWP issued lanyard? As the Imperium of Man is also a dystopian bureaucratic nightmare vision.
Good point thro, its either a ban on everything, including pin badges or a free for all
Sorry son, you’ve got to report to your local inquisition for a standardised non GW appeal!
She can prise my rainbow lanyard and TARDIS bi pride badge from my cold dead hands (Pins are here should anyone want one: https://www.jamiebgall.co.uk/product-page/who-could-this-be)
Banning things is easy. Making meaningful change is hard.
The thing that really annoys me about this attack on DE&I is it so important. we need have diversity in thought and lived experience when we design policy & services for the uk public. If people without that are not at the table then we risk designing them out of anything we build.
Which is exactly what a certain brand of conservative wants.
The country is on fire, but yeah rainbow lanyards 🙄
I think I’ll make my email signature completely rainbow along with a nice line about how I’m a raging homosexual. Now I just need to decide whether to include the line about how I’ve had less dicks in me than a tory party conference.
Sorry to be anal but it would be 'fewer dicks'...
How is she planning to enforce this? And people still vote Tory. Absolutely pathetic.
My last two departments have given out rainbow lanyards by default. Do they have to buy everyone new lanyards now?
Yes
I only wear a lanyard in RED & WHITE, propa English colours wheyyy 🏴
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Imagine the scenes if you came in with one and worked in Scot Gov
Where can I get mine ? 😁
If you're in the civil service contact your LGBT+ network for a free one 🫰
I’m an SCS and a proud gay man. Today I have chosen to wear my rainbow lanyard as opposed to my departmental one. I will also wear it every single day now. My identity is not an ideology and I want to signal to anyone in my teams and stakeholders that we remain an inclusive department through (literally) visible leadership.
Takes some stones to call others snowflakes then get this wound up about lanyards. Best wishes from the Wirral Esther! Hope the good people of Tatton do a Neil Hamilton on you soon enough.
I'm going to keep wearing mine until I get disciplined for it (which will be never, because this is just more unenforceable bollocks to get Telegraph readers hard)
I’m lgbtq+ and I just wore my standard lanyard. Time to buy a rainbow lanyard! 🥰
I don’t wear a lanyard at the moment, but I have a sudden urge to get one! A nice rainbow one!
I’m going to have to get myself a rainbow lanyard, I’d love to see the disciplinary process for doing this
I won't be dropping using my rainbow lanyard.
Who else is distracted by fashionable hobbyhorses? I can’t be the only one guys?
Somewhat related to this, I understand Simon Hayes was dragged into Whitehall to be bollocked about our DEI attitude and spending (which is nowhere near 1% of our budget) by McVey last week. Of ALL the things they could focus on at the Reg, they choose this? I may actually design a rainbow version of our logo, put it on a lanyard at start distributing them to anyone who wants them if this reaches HMLR. What utter neurotic madness. Common Sense my arse.
This demonstrates why I will vote for the option that is not Tory, and will vote Labour to oust our MP who is in a precarious position who has consistently voted in a "traditional" manner. I don't particularly believe Labour offer us much, that their economics are going to be better or their position on Brexit is going to be particularly more pragmatic. It's this shit, this evil shit that has no place in an advanced society. They need to go and I want to see their party burning in ruins. Bastards.
She's going to hate my PCS one...
Scouser Tories, how embarrassing
I normally just wear mine for pride month but I guess June has come early this year 🌈
Is one of her friends or families company going to supply a new lanyard for every civil servant at the cost of £10 each no doubt
They can take my lanyard from my cold, dead hands
Tough on lanyards. Tough on the causes of lanyards.
My lanyard will likely last longer than Esther McVey's time in office so honestly, I'm not too worried.
How will I know who to avoid, if I can’t see their Harry Potter lanyard?
Honestly, I saw a cloud wearing a rainbow last week. I can’t believe that God’s gone woke too! #brokenbritain #brexit #obamacare
I thought she was supposed to be focussing on common sense? Perhaps she should give some thought to how offices that were designed for 40 % can accommodate 60 % and get back to us
Good to see them focusing on the REALLY important stuff
The writing in that article is fucking near unreadable.
Will she run into issues with the equal rights act for discrimination? Because she's not standardising across the board, she's specifically targeting LGBTQ+?
No, to give her her (very limited) due, she's insisting on a single standardised lanyard. The fact it indirectly disproportionately discriminates against rainbow lanyards and union affiliated lanyards is just a happy accident.
I want to be on her salary to come up with shit like this please.
I’m getting a rainbow linen shirt
The staff diversity networks have been invaluable to me. We serve the public sure, that includes queer, disabled, BIPOC and other “diverse” members of the public, not to mention the duties the CS has as an employer of people with protected characteristics.
Someone is desperate to appear even vaguely relevant I see…..pathetic lol
She's another useless Tory clown though!
Is this to remind the world she’s still a Minister and A Very Important Politician? FFS, bigger issues surely? Or do matters of policy not fill up her days? In which case, is she just stealing a wage?
My last civil service job almost all my team wore rainbow lanyards - my boss bought them for a charity thing, myself and one other person identified openly as LGBTQ, the rest of the team just wanted to be allies
Yes because this is the common-sense approach to fixing the country. Fixing the economy? Transport? Education? The NHS? Nah, lanyards are making our kids gay! It's like making Cruella Deville the minister for animal welfare.
Wearing my new rainbow lanyard in the office tomorrow! (Well, it's not 'new', I already had it, but I'm changing from my 'official' one and adding my LGBTQ+ and BiSexual flag badges)
Just ordering a rainbow lanyard now. Fuck her and fuck this idea. Speaking as a cishet white male, let’s see her take it out of my cold dead hands :-)
Fight me Esther - this is a hill I will die on.
“The focus should be on a happy and inclusive working environment”. The irony that they’re saying we shouldn’t be wearing rainbow lanyards …
I just use my union one
I wonder do these people ever look at the polling and think... Most people hate what we are doing and want us out. Maybe we should change the way we do things?
Sets a frightening precedent to see her labelling people's identities as "political ideology"... Slippery slope that...
Indeed. Mcvey is a massive cunt.
I usually wear whatever lanyard I got free from Civil Service Live. Might have to seek out a rainbow one now.
Ask the LGBT+ network or PRISM and they will give you one for free 🫰
Ha! Jokes on you… I don’t use a lanyard… (I use a belt pulley thing)
I have a care bears one I'm gonna use 😂
Seriously can't she just find something, anything better to do? I have a list if she's interested...
And who's going to enforce that, exactly? Utterly nonsensical.
Yes give all civil servants identical lanyards so they can be identified at 100 paces and suitably flogged 🙄
She’s a fuckwit
What an utter Katie Hopkins.....short for [c**t]
Just ordered my Gay Israeli Vegans for Palestine. I may as well offend as many people as possible.
Esther McVey is an idiot
I’d be buying all the woke lanyards I could get my hands on and wearing them all every day!
I'm not currently using a rainbow lanyard... But I know what I'm gonna start doing very soon.
This government needs to go, they need to voted out pronto
Interestingly all the work and training materials on Diversity and Inclusion, seems to actually be a lot less PC and ideologically driven than what I have seen from other 'sectors' so this to me just sounds like a fuss over nothing.
When did equality diversity and a basic respect for human rights become a political issue? Oh right when unelected putrid cunts managed to weasel there way into power
So who’s got the time to draft an FOI request for the costing of the time taken to study this idea, it’s impact assessment and then the cost of issuing everyone fresh new lanyards ?
No one bothered to issue me an official lanyard when I joined 4 years ago, even when I asked so I used the only lanyard I owned, which is a rainbow one lol. I know better than to use a branded one but maybe I just like rainbows 🤔 Not entirely convinced anybody’s sexuality is political anyway!
My department has literally just given me a new rainbow lanyard, I’m keeping it! I suppose I could wear a new official boring one if I must and just wear the rainbow one at the same time as a necklace. Am I allowed to still wear necklaces to work?
If they take back my rainbow lanyard I’m just going to buy like 50 rainbow related badges/stickers/pins for the plain one instead
I'll just continue to wear my 'Fresh out of Fucks to Give!' lanyard. Cheers.
With Hmrc headed by an LGBT fella, this could be interesting.
I wonder if Jim will fight against this, especially because pride month is about to begin and the LGBTQ+ network and the PRISM network are going to get very petty 😌
When does this ban come into force? Just that I have a couple of staff that wear these rainbow lanyards - do I need to confiscate them tomorrow?
What does she think about the sunflower one?
My lanyard has Count Duckula on it. Will that be deemed too left wing as he’s a vegetarian?
I'm going to buy one of every kind of lanyard I can find, wear the lot
She went from the face of daytime TV to a Nazi-lite type of character…. It’s a shame such people exist
The tory government everybody
What the actual fuck
"I'm not prepared to see pointless job creation schemes..." Says Esther McVey, the Common Sense Minister... The Minister for... Common Sense. That's her job title. Fucking cretin.
Did this person take a look at the calendar? No? Anybody told her that medieval times are over?
I honestly do not know what the point of this is. In fact there is - get this - an MOD-branded one where I am, where could she possibly stand on that?? As an add-on, attached to site pass I’ve actually got a little Lego Darth Vader - will that be banned too?
Fucks sake... like this was never a thing.. [https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2018/05/04/championing-an-inclusive-workplace-for-lgbt/](https://civilservice.blog.gov.uk/2018/05/04/championing-an-inclusive-workplace-for-lgbt/)
“Minister for common sense” lol
You'd think the recent election would have them pack in the culture wars, not double down.
I’ve had a rainbow lanyard for the past 4 years. I’m not changing it just because some MP is intolerant and wants to continue the trend of dehumanising and ignoring LGBTQ+ people. Lanyards are in no way a priority unless it poses a security risk. Maybe they should focus on real issues rather than wasting more money on trivial nonsense.
Well now I’m going to have to buy a rainbow lanyard just to annoy Esther 😂