Down, Neddy
NEDDY outlived its usefulness by 30 years — that is, ever since the day it was born. As a cosy, chummy name for a portentous quango, the National Economic Develop- ment Council, it told its own story. Neddy's godfather was Selwyn Lloyd, a weak Chan- cellor who liked to be liked, and thought that if he could bring the two sides of indus- try together, that might pass for a policy. Now a Chancellor less concerned with pop- ularity has wrung Neddy's neck. No institu- tion came to stand so plainly for the worst in British economic management — for corporatism, horse-trading, hypocrisy, reluctance to face facts, voluntary-compul- sory intervention, readiness to override markets and a nerveless economic policy, patched together out of compromise and stumbling from one crisis to the next. In later years, Neddy degenerated into a talk- ing shop and a repository of illusions. Now, I just hope it will lie down.
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