Somehow this comment from Philip Hammond passed me by – he’s talking about implementing public service spending cuts that he believes will make him most hated man in Britain.

“It is absolutely not the case that people in the public services are dreading this, or saying ‘oh my God, what is going to happen?’ “He claims civil servants are preparing to make cuts without waiting for instructions from on high. “There is a sense of liberation that we are going to empower public sector professionals to undertake the reform.” Patrick Wintour and Nicholas Watt, The Guardian.

What exactly is liberating and empowering about losing your job – unlike Hammond I don’t think turkeys love Christmas.