by Sunny Hundal

David Cameron promised a ‘bonfire of the Quangos’ last year when he attacked Labour for making people “feel so powerless”.

This week on Liberal Conspiracy we’re launching Cameron’s Quango Watch, given the party has finally started announcing some policies.

New Quango no. 1:

“We will introduce a [supermarket] ombudsman to curb abuses of power which undermine our farmers and act against the long-term interest of consumers,” Nick Herbert, shadow minister for farming and environment told a farming conference here.

Sounds like a good idea, but it’s still a new quango.

New Quango no. 2:

To make sure the NHS is funded on the basis of clinical need, not political expediency, we will create an independent NHS board to allocate resources to different parts of the country and make access to the NHS more equal. (Page 8)

Only yesterday the Conservatives were arguing for more political interference just before they argued against it.

So that’s two new quangos so far. Please let us know if you spot any more.

Update: New Quango no. 3

“George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, outlined plans on Tuesday to keep a future Tory government on a strict path to cutting the £178bn deficit, including the creation of a new three-person “budget responsibility committee” to police his plans… The Tory plan would see the creation of an office of budget responsibility, producing medium-term borrowing forecasts, making official recommendations for fiscal policy and assessing the UK’s fiscal sustainability over 50 years.” – FT

(via Rosie in the comments)