Blair’s Question Time may continue
Posted by Ellee on Jun 28, 2007 in Uncategorized | 9 comments
Although Prime Minister’s Question Time may have come to an end for Tony Blair, the police have also put more questions to him, possibly in the last week, in the cash-for-honours scandal. Could there be more to come? Could he be called as a key witness if/when charges are made?
It will be interesting to see what changes Gordon Brown introduces for party funding and honours.
Blair better have those plane tickets all sorted by now.
Do we have an extradition treay with Israel?
I agree Ruth Kelly turned out to be wet
And the new Home Secretary is a no-one from nowhere, but hey she can take the fall for any mishaps on the home front.
As for Alastair Darling, I’m not sure I agree with him on many things – but he’s got the kind of Mind for the Treasury – and dare say will enable Gordon to keep a strong holdon the Exchequer.
Miliband hasn’t really done anything, he’s just the youngest ever foreign secretary, and Jack Staw plods on …
But I meant overall (rather than individually) looks like Gordon is more ‘progressive’ than any of Blair’s New Labour Cabinets really were.
He hasn’t filled the Cabinet with Old Dogs or old labourites – but just enough opposition to Iraq, to regain some ‘moral’ ground with the labour voters, and perhaps enough appeal to be able to recruit new younger socialists.
We’ll have to see how they mature over the next couple of years, and how many will fall by the wayside or be chopped before the roots take hold.
But they certainly look likely to give Cameron the shadow Cabinet a run for their money in the next parliament. Cameron will have to build a real shadow cabinet, instead of throwing together a handful who have the occasional go at picking on Blair’s ghost.
More of a challenge, calls for a better effort from the opposition benches, and the liberals may just fade … to grey!
And why has former Defence Secretary,Geoff Hoon resurfaced in Cabinet?
David Miliband will regret accepting the Foreign Secretaryship. The PM always get the glory when foreign policy goes right, while the FS carries the can when everything goes wrong (i.e., most of the time). The FO is in any case largely run by the civil service with minimal political interference. They will eat young David for breakfast.
Even the Blessed Margaret never really got a handle on the FO. Over time, DM will tire of the endless travelling and mind-numbing summitry. He will also be increasingly distant from his own party. Which is just the way GB wants things.
Gordo, of course, intends to keep Miliband as far away from the decision-making loop as possible. David was once a perceived threat to GB’s leadership ambitions. And Gordo has a long memory.
Q9, I’m just wondering where the outside talent is that we were promised? Probably more announcements are due to be made. So far, yes the Milibands are talented. Can’t imagine how Ruth Kelly got Transport, she has not excelled herself to date,. I thought she had a huge grin on her face on the benches in the House yesterday during Blair’s final speech. Alistair Darling seems pretty “soul-less”, which is what Brown promised. Does this cabinet have soul? Interesting to have a woman Home Secretary, but doubt her background will make her up to the job, she could be another Ruth Kelly.
So Elle,
what do you think of Gordon’s spanking new fresh & young looking Cabinet.
Just from the looks (and looks can be deceptive, ie never judge a book by its cover) it looks more dynamic than everything Blair put together after his first 100 days
I’d love to be there to see him squirm…
Maundy Gregory, eat your heart out!
It’ll be interesting if he has to appear as a witness – but he’ll slip out of it.
Well I hope GB does something. It is not only bringing the Government into disrepute, it is bringing the country too, IMO.
It would be interesting to see him give evidence against Ruth Turner and Lord Levy. This government has lowered standards in so many ways. Blair would need a hyde thicker than a Ghurka’s foreskin not to squirm.