Consequences of Incompetence
In August of 2022, I was tasked with a remarkable opportunity to raise the public profile of the shared parenting charity Families Need Fathers, of which I have been a member since November 2007, and a branch officer since 2011. The new and very capable Chair of FNF Trustees, Paul O’Callaghan, asked me if I would reach out to some of my contacts who have a high public profile and who would advance the cause of shared parenting and also address the FNF AGM in November 2022. FNF has been in steady decline for the past decade, membership has plummeted by about 40%, income is derisory, and the public profile one of invisibility. Paul and other new trustees are very aware of this and of the desperate need to raise the public profile of the charity and make it fit for purpose.
Top of Paul’s requests was Ann Widdecombe, who had quite brilliantly interviewed me on how fathers are so disadvantaged in the family court arena. This video is available to view here: https://vincentmcgovern.com/blog/ann-widdecombe-men-second-class-citizens This video has over 52,000 views as of September 2022. My part is between 19.38 and 36 minutes.
Ann has been the Minister of State for Employment, Minister of State for Prisons, Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Shadow Home Secretary. Ann was elected as a Member of the European Parliament in 2019. Ann’s full title is, The Right Honourable Ann Widdecombe DSG. The “Right Honourable” means that Ann is a member of the Privy Council, the body that advices the Monarch.
You can imagine my astonishment and delight when Ann promptly replied yes. At last, a serious big hitter was going to address the charity, not just the usual senior member of the family court or associated agency who talks wonderfully, presents many excuses, blames everyone and everything as to why the situation is so bad, and in the meantime matters steadily worsen for children remaining in contact with both parents and their wider families post-divorce or separation. Plus, the invisibility of the charity continues. For the record, the UK has the worst outcomes for children post-divorce or separation of the leading 21 developed countries analysed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) 2007, Child Poverty in Perspective.
The intention was that FNF would present Ann with statistics on the dire state of the family court, and hopefully Ann would give it appropriate publicity via her column in the Daily Express newspaper plus her numerous TV and media appearances. The further hope was that a few previously silent politicians would make public statements on the subject and perhaps an individual or two with deep pockets would help the charity financially. It was also perceived that with a new Conservative Prime Minister and Cabinet who may be more willing to address the huge financial cost to society of family breakdown (Estimated at £46 billion in 2013, Ref Centre for Social Justice) perhaps they would listen to a former Conservative minister and save a few billion?
However, I once again underestimated the staggering incompetence of a few trustees and senior people within FNF who, in my opinion have been primarily responsible for the long-term decline of the charity. They are in my view of the type that brilliantly disguises their incompetence by always being busy with irrelevant minutiae and are extraordinarily adept at justifying ineffectiveness, probably because they have a lifetime of practice. And, above all, their favourite phrase for stopping anyone else from doing anything is, ‘The reputation of the charity must be upheld’. Basically, if nothing is done, then nothing bad can happen. The lifelong mantra of the eternally incompetent who wax lyrically about concepts and strategies and have as much understanding of actual achievement as a meerkat has about car insurance. How ironic that the very people who have done so much to undermine the charity always express such concern about the charity’s reputation.
Do you want to know the best part of this angry monologue?
They refused Ann Widdecombe without even having an alternative!!!