First of all, I can totally understand why Cameron decided to have his shadow cabinet reshuffle today. After all, any reshuffle will be picked over, and given recent "rows" a Tory reshuffle will be picked over in light of such things. As such, why not reshuffle when attention is largely diverted elsewhere and so minimise negative coverage?However, having said this I can't deny my mind has been boggling about a couple of the new appointments. For a start, who exactly is the new Northern Ireland shadow, Owen Paterson? Given the shameful fact I regularly read Hansard I know most of the names of the MPs that actually do stuff, and Paterson's name has never flown across my radar.
As a result of this utter confusion I was forced to contact a senior Tory insider to find out who he was and was told bluntly that he is "a complete plank". Now I don't know the guy from Adam, but if the description is correct I guess he will match up quite neatly with Shaun Woodward on the other side of the dispatch box - plank, wood, get it? (that was poor I know)
The other utterly bizarre and bewildering appointment is the new shadow to Hazel Blears at Communities and Local Government, Sayeeda Warsi. Warsi is not currently an MP so will be elevated to the Lords (cushy number) and becomes responsible for "Community Cohesion". I'm assuming here that the word "community" is actually a euphemism for "Asian/Muslim community" rather than the wider definition given that she's on record saying she will strongly campaign for an end to "the promotion of homosexuality that undermines family life."
She also said - when defending an article she had written that included inaccurate figures - that she has no problem "upsetting community relations" if she is speaking the truth. Besides the irony re "speaking the truth", it doesn't really bode very well for "community cohesion" policy does it? It seems a bit like putting a protectionist in charge of free trade, or a racist in charge of race relations. What makes it odder is that it's a promotion into the Upper House and an effective sinecure for a young woman who would probably be far more effective in the Commons anyway.
On a brighter note, it's fantastic that Michael Gove has been promoted to shadow Ed Balls. A well deserved promotion in my view.
8 comments:
I always assumed that one of the luxuries of Opposition was being able to discard indefensible positions (like supporting Section 28 for example), and being able to attack on grounds of principle over expediency. So why appoint a plank and a homophobe? How is a spokesperson in the Lords supposed to hold a Commoner to account?
On another level, is Cameron suffering from the same dearth of talent on his benches as Brown? Surely not.
I agree, why put her in the Lords?
Why not find here a seat?
This all seems very strange to me. Shame there were not many new faces and no demotion for the hopeless Osbourne.
So, you're saying it's a good day to bury bad news? (No, I know you aren't that cynical.)
But why are you having a go at Sayeeda Warsi. You say you are "assuming that the word 'community' is actually a euphemism for 'Asian/Muslim community' rather than the wider definition given that she's on record saying she will strongly campaign for an end to 'the promotion of homosexuality that undermines family life."'.
Some big assumptions on your part in the interpretation of what you allege she said? What's your beef with her?
Did you not think to Google Owen Paterson?
http://www.owenpaterson.org.uk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Paterson
Glad that a non-aligned could help a Tory out with who's who in his own party.
Anon: I suppose you could say that, although in fairness it's not going to be buried.It's going to be in the papers this morning and be fairly prevalent. My point was that it will probably be on page 6 or 7 rather than page 2 or 4, and probably won't have much said in the Leaders about it. That's to say it might be a little bit rather than the main bit.
As to the assumptions, they're not at all big. It's called sarcasm. I'm not alleging she said something, she's on the record saying it in election leaflets. Not exactly a "cohesive" statement is it? You ask what my beef is with her though. I don't have beef with her as such, my beef is with the position she's been given because it appears to be the anti-thesis of some of her utterances. As it happens, and purely on a personal point, I think she's quite fanciable.
Hirst: Of course I fucking Google'd him you Northern monkey. I wasn't speaking in a literal sense as was made clear by the reference to Parliamentary proceedings.
Gove is Apprentice Katie's long lost brother. How can a public schoolboy pronounce on the state sector or deal with Grammargate?
He got pushed into startled rabbit mode i the Bullingdon docu when Hitchens asked him about all those front benchers coming from Eton.
Gove replied something about all their parents caring enough to send them to a good school so they would get on. Or in other words attempted to buy them a place in the upper echelons and dare I say it the opposition front bench.
Not to mention caring so much they sent the little toffs away from home so they could get on with their selfish society lives, so the boys could be bullied, fagged, doped up by DC's friends, and get prepared for the Bullingdon.
I'm not sure Gove can hold it together under pressure, and he talks Toff. Albeit the Ronnie Corbett/charlie Falconer edinburgh version.
Continuing "timber" phraseology it appears your tory insider is pretty "thick".
Patterson who shadowed Fisheries for a time was i found to be a most competent parliamentarian. He knew his brief extremely well and produced an excellent fishery manifesto.
A "plank" he ain`t
JH
*shrugs*
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