The rebranding of the Department of Trade and Industry as the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has cost £192,000 "to date," a written Parliamentary answer reveals. The six figure bill to the taxpayer includes the cost of designing the new departmental moniker, changing the website and new signage.

Is it worth it? Tony Blair was forced into a U-turn on a previous attempt to rebrand the department in May 2005, just a week after the announcement was made. Critics at the time pointed out that possible acronyms for the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry included Dippy and Penis. Alan Johnson, the newly appointed secretary of state, insisted his department revert to its former DTI title, and pointed out that the cost of short-lived rebranding involved no more than the use of "one screwdriver to take down three letters [and] screw [them] back up".

The new department has not suffered the same abbreviated indignities as the ill-fated DPEI. But ministers appear slightly ill at ease with the sheer length of the title foisted on the department. The government insists on referring to it as "BERR" and this has now become its official abbreviation on documents and its website. But the Tories are sticking resolutely with DBERR.

November 14, 2007 6:01pm in UK politics | Comment