The British government like many others is in *swingeing cuts* mode. How will this affect local authorities? It will see their budgets cut and many of their staff being transferred from payroll to dole queue. It will also mean a reduction in funding to near nil for website development. And here's the deal. Sitemorse used to use strong-arm tactics to sell their services to these local authorities. But budget cuts have lead to a divorcing of rankings from the once deep pockets of central government. In turn this has introduced a new wave of pragmatism; the now sustenance-driven website owners are hungry for results. Obscure issues such as *mean time to first byte* and speed to load; issues which have produced the dullest crop of websites imaginable will give way to an appealing new era. New sites will emerge, built to attract audiences rather than flatter techies for the single purpose of ratcheting extra funding. Hooray for common sense! 

A new tipping-point has arrived. It will see business-goal-driven practicality trumping the old-skool dogma. Will anyone care about their position in a ranking if it no longer has a direct link to funding? Nope.

A related post: http://www.cmswatch.com/Blog/1935-UK-Budget-Cuts-and-Public-Sector-IT