Before becoming prime minister, Andy Burnham pledged to “end 40 years of neoliberalism(新自由主义)”. But as he prepares for his first budget on Wednesday, his government is yet to let go of(放弃；摆脱) one of its most tedious(令人厌烦的) cliches: red tape(繁文缛节；官僚程序).
在成为首相之前，安迪·伯纳姆曾承诺“终结40年的新自由主义”。但在他准备周三的首份预算案之际，他的政府却仍未摆脱最令人厌烦的陈词滥调之一：繁文缛节。
In the run-up to the chancellor John Healey’s high-stakes Commons address, the government issued a press release last week promising his plans would include measures to “slash the red tape choking firms”.(在财政大臣约翰·希利至关重要的下议院演讲前夕，政府上周发布新闻稿，承诺他的计划将包括“大幅削减扼杀企业的繁文缛节”的措施。)
在财政大臣约翰·希利至关重要的下议院演讲前夕，政府上周发布新闻稿，承诺他的计划将包括“大幅削减扼杀企业的繁文缛节”的措施。
Named after the tape once used to tie up government bills, and popularise(推广；使流行)d by the historian Thomas Carlyle(托马斯·卡莱尔，苏格兰历史学家), the phrase is straight from the neoliberal playbook and has long outlived its usefulness.
这个短语得名于曾用来捆扎政府法案的红色带子，并由历史学家托马斯·卡莱尔推广开来；它直接出自新自由主义的剧本，早已失去了用处。