"Grace and favour" or disgrace and corruption - the burgeoning cost of the UK’s civil service
The increase in National Insurance will add a few billion to the cost of the UK’s civil service
Elon Musk’s DOGE has identified tens of thousands of federal bureaucrats that are “surplus to requirements”.
The US knows it is on the brink of an economic crises as the interest on its massive $36,5 trillion debt approaches $1.5 trillion a year.
The UK has a similar issue with far lower GDP per capita/(person).
DOGE is attempting to return spending to pre-C19 levels - the UK is not and s unaware of how spending has bee blow out and maintained at super high levels. The UK has the additional headwind of massive DEI spending, economic migrants’ and the ridiculous “net zero” policies that Trump has removed. As with the US, it faces a sickening population as the toxic effects of the “pandemic f h vaccinated” works through the population.
The EU, Canada and the UK should take note.
Using data sourced from Brave AI, here’s a closer look at the UK and its “civil servant bureaucracy”.
Population in 2015 = 66.1 million
Population in 2025 = 69.1 million
An increase of 3 million or 4.5%.
Number of civil servants in 2015 = 433,812
Number of civil servants in 2024 = 542,840
An increase of 109,028 or 25.1%.
Median salary £24,980 in 2015
Median salary £33,980 in 2024
An increase of £9,000 or 36.0%
These aren’t the only benefits - there are sickness, holidays and pensions as well.
Here’s the holiday/vacation benefits:
“UK civil servants are entitled to an annual leave allowance that increases with years of service. After completing 10 years of qualifying service, civil servants are entitled to 30 days of annual leave per year. This entitlement is in addition to 8 public holidays and 1 privilege day.”
39 days annua leave - almost 8 weeks or two months.
The price x volume effects have seen an increase in civil service pay from
2015 - 433,812 times £24,980 = £10,84 billion
To
2024 - 542,840 times £33,980 = £18.45 billion
An increase of 70% for that population increase of 4.5%.
So much for advances in technology reducing costs!
Th median numbers conceal the higher salaries within the UK civil service.
“In the year to March 2024, 2,625 civil servants earned between £100,000 and £150,000, and 260 civil servants earned between £150,000 and £200,000, with an additional 50 civil servants earning £200,000 or more.”
2,935 arming more than £100,000 a year - which is easily £300 million a year.
That £18.45 billion current salary bill has been increased by “Rachel from Accounts” in the October 2024 budget. The drop in the threshold at which National Insurance kicks in at the increased rate of 15% alone will cost (£9,100 - £5,000) times 542,840 = £2.23 billion then we need to add the extra 1,2% on those civil servants = 1.2% times (£33,980 - £9,100) times 542,840 = £162 million.
NXT years, 2025/6, bill for civil servants starts at around £21 billion.
Now all the above apples to central government staffing. There is a similar calculation to be made for (State) local and city public servants. According to a 2022 report, the number of local authority employees earning over £100,000 in the UK reached its highest level since 2013-14, with 2,921 employees receiving a six-figure pay and benefits package during 2020-21.
The average salary for local government employees in the UK, as of the latest data, is around £32,000.”
Local authorities and (government controlled) NGOs in commonwealth countries are “feeding at the trough” of local tax rate payers and energy “authorities”.
“As of September 2024, more than 360,000 council and school support staff across England and Wales began voting on whether to take strike action over the pay offer, with the majority opting to reject the £1,290 sum.”
https://www.insider.co.uk/news/gb-energy-advertises-chief-executive-34896831
remember that GB Energy has a staff of 1 at the moment and was created as an NGO by the Net Zero Energy Minister, Ed Miliband, by borrowing taxpayer money to buy the grid assets of National Grid.
“In October 2024, the UK government agreed to a £630 million buyout of National Grid's grid operation division, which included its transmission system operator responsibilities in Great Britain.” It will “co-invest” with energy companies to put down wind and solar energy. The UK consumer will end up paying for the higher and intermittent costs of that “net zero” policy in their utility bills - which have increased by 20% - to the highest globally.
This is a tax.
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Onwards!!!