Just one example....

of money being squandered. The Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday that Ofqual, Labour's quango charged with restoring faith in national educational tests, had employed consultants to find another word to replace "error", a word they didn't want to use in reports because of its suggestion of culpability.

The consultants were paid £3,000 - a very small project compared with some consultants employed by government and quangos. It is its sheer futility and also intended deception which staggers anyone.

At a time when the budget deficit could be as high as £185 billion, it beggars belief that quangos could be wasting money on such a project.

Cameron, the Tory leader, will almost certainly propose the abolition of many quangos as part of his plans to reduce public expenditure. This one, and many others like it, would seem to be a prime candidate.

He has also promised, if elected, to require all government departments to publish on line any items of expenditure greater than £25,000. Perhaps he should reduce this figure, and so catch any further stupid waste of money.

* The proposal which the consultants put forward, to replace "error", was "variation". This is a typical bureaucrat's word, to conceal as much as possible.