Now they want a deputy Twittercrat

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

The government is recruiting for a deputy director of digital communications, which has already been branded as a "deputy Twittercrat".

In a job worth £75,000 a year, the successful applicant would be expected to "lead the development and delivery of a detailed website strategy that encompasses the technical and communications future of the entire online estate".

Much scorn was aimed at the government in February when it hired a director of digital engagement, who it appeared would spend most of his/her time on Twitter, for £160,000 a year.

The Conservatives have already come out and said this latest job opportunity is a waste of taxpayers' money.

"You would have thought one Twitter tsar was enough for Gordon Brown," said Francis Maude, the shadow cabinet office minister. "The public rightly expect this government to exercise some kind of prudence when the country is in the grip of a recession. Instead, all we get is Labour shelling out yet more taxpayers' money on spin doctors to peddle their propaganda."

Susie Squire, political director from the TaxPayers' Alliance, added: "With record debt, the government should have better things to spend money on that a pointless deputy Twittercrat. The public sector as a whole should be tightening its belt during times of economic hardship, and this job would be a scandalous waste even during good economic times.

"Taxpayers don't want more Web 2.0. They want an end to wasteful spending."

The Cabinet Office said the deputy director would lead an existing team that maintains and develops the websites of the civil service, the Cabinet Office and other relevant websites.