Most people get just the once chance at any one job in government. It's very unusual (Mandelson with the DTI aside, and Mandelson seems to be an exception to most political rules) for someone to go back to a job a second time.
At Cabinet level, Mandelson has done it, Roy Jenkins with the Home Office has, and I think that's it, post war. There's been the odd time of someone going to back to a job they'd previously done when their party had been out of office but picking up where you left off but for the intervention of the electorate is slightly different.
So why has the SoS for Wales post (perhaps the post with the least responsibility in all government) had this retread effect twice, with both Murphy and Hain?
Secretary of State for Wales
July 2009: Paul Murphy
October 2002: Peter Hain
January 2008: Paul Murphy
June 2009: Peter Hain
Last time Hain did this job, he doubled it with the DWP job (replaced by Mr Purnell) but suddenly, in the intervening 18 months the job must have grown in importance and Hain no longer doubles-up.
Presumably, this reshuffle has been made for the same reason that Jim Murphy is in Scotland - to run campaigns for the Labour party. By any stretch of the imagination Hain is a better campaigner than (Paul) Murphy (Paul Murphy wouldn't recognise a campaign if it introduced itself) and Wales has the 2nd highest proportion of Labour seats of any UK region (and it's a bit tricky to justify a full-time Secretary of State for the North East).
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Fresh Blood and the Chief Secretary
Prime Ministers normally reshuffle Cabinets and declare that they've brought in fresh blood and new ideas. This one bucked that very clear trend and the average experience of Cabinet rises after the reshuffle. The outgoing Cabinet members have been, on average, in the Commons for 14 years. The incoming, for 16 years. In contrast to the first Brown Cabinet which brought in two people in their first parliament (the Ed's), the least experienced this time is Ben Bradshaw, having been around in Parliament since 1997 (the most experienced newcomer to Cabinet since at least 1986)
The post of Chief Secretary is virtually always filled by a newcomer to the Cabinet. Since 1970, only two people have moved from inside the Cabinet to the Chief Sec post. Liam Byrne becomes only the second such mover after William Waldegrave, in 95 (John Major's and the Conservatives last Chief Secretary).
The post of Chief Secretary is virtually always filled by a newcomer to the Cabinet. Since 1970, only two people have moved from inside the Cabinet to the Chief Sec post. Liam Byrne becomes only the second such mover after William Waldegrave, in 95 (John Major's and the Conservatives last Chief Secretary).
How many Privy Counsellors can be needed? The devaluing of 'Rt Hon'
The Privy Council (members without other titles gain the prefix 'Rt Hon') is one of the many historic but still faintly functional parts of our constitution.
Excluding those people who have to be, or by convention are, made a member of the Privy Council (Cabinet members, senior Legal and Church appointments, opposition party leaders and the odd other senior opposition member, 'Speakers' of the various legislatures etc), Brown's record of creating members of the Council far outstrips that of his predecessor (which in turn exceeded that of his predecessor as Labour members appear to prefer 'Rt Hon' to 'Sir' in front of their names).
In Brown's (just under) 2 years, 13 MPs have been created a member of the PC without reaching Cabinet. For some of them it appears to have been a post-sacking making up (Ryan, Morley, McGuire for example). For others, maybe those who've hung around just outside the Cabinet for some time, compensation for not even making it to the phalanx of ministers 'invited' or 'entitled' to attend Cabinet.
By contrast, in Blairs (just over) 10 years, 39 MPs were made members, 3 times as many in 5 times as long. A fair few of these were in advance of being promoted to Cabinet (none of Browns 13 have yet), though the remainder were also post sacking making up, or recongition to long serving ministers of state that they were never going to quite make it to Cabinet.
Does any of this matter? Well, in one sense, no. The day-to-day work of the PC is done by the Lord President (usually Leader of the Commons or Lords, now parts of Lord Mandelsons bauble-set) and most members do little. The concept of discussions on 'Privy Council' terms may matter (hence some of the opposition members appointments) but there are any number of examples of being taken into confidence without the honorific title.
So, for the most part, it seems to have become just another part of the Prime Ministerial patronage machine.
Excluding those people who have to be, or by convention are, made a member of the Privy Council (Cabinet members, senior Legal and Church appointments, opposition party leaders and the odd other senior opposition member, 'Speakers' of the various legislatures etc), Brown's record of creating members of the Council far outstrips that of his predecessor (which in turn exceeded that of his predecessor as Labour members appear to prefer 'Rt Hon' to 'Sir' in front of their names).
In Brown's (just under) 2 years, 13 MPs have been created a member of the PC without reaching Cabinet. For some of them it appears to have been a post-sacking making up (Ryan, Morley, McGuire for example). For others, maybe those who've hung around just outside the Cabinet for some time, compensation for not even making it to the phalanx of ministers 'invited' or 'entitled' to attend Cabinet.
By contrast, in Blairs (just over) 10 years, 39 MPs were made members, 3 times as many in 5 times as long. A fair few of these were in advance of being promoted to Cabinet (none of Browns 13 have yet), though the remainder were also post sacking making up, or recongition to long serving ministers of state that they were never going to quite make it to Cabinet.
Does any of this matter? Well, in one sense, no. The day-to-day work of the PC is done by the Lord President (usually Leader of the Commons or Lords, now parts of Lord Mandelsons bauble-set) and most members do little. The concept of discussions on 'Privy Council' terms may matter (hence some of the opposition members appointments) but there are any number of examples of being taken into confidence without the honorific title.
So, for the most part, it seems to have become just another part of the Prime Ministerial patronage machine.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Peers in charge & the First Secretary of State
Since the second world war, this is the first Cabinet to have members of the Lords in charge of two spending departments (Mandelson at business, Adonis at Transport).
Lord (Peter) Carrington, Lord (Quentin Hogg) Hailsham, Lord (David) Young have been in a very small minority of peers who have run major departments and this Cabinet is makinga major contributions to their ranks.
These exceptions to the rule had an MP as their departmental deputy, able to answer questions and make statements, but as a member of the Cabinet, usually one of the nominal posts such as Paymaster-General or Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Ken Clarke, for example, first became a member of the Cabinet in this role, to David Young.
What's slightly extraordinary, this was the case with Mandelson prior to todays reshuffle and the problem is now doubled, is that not only are their departmental deputies not members of the Cabinet, they're not even part of the phalanx of people entitled or invited to attend. Statements on Transport and Business issues will now be made and answered by an MP not around the Cabinet table when they were discussed.
We've also seen today the revival of one of the more meaningless (to the world if not to the holder) titles in government, that of First Secretary of State, which Lord Mandelson now has. Indeed, not content with that honorary title, he's also scooped up that of Lord President, normally destined for Leader of the Lords or the Commons.
Of his 6 predecessors, 3 also held the (also meaningless) post of Deputy Prime Minister (Prescott, Heseltine, and the first post-holder, Rab Butler). 1 was deputy leader of his party (the first G Brown at the top of British politics), leaving Mandelson alongside Barbara Castle and Michael Stewart as non-deputy holders of the First Sec of State title.
Lord (Peter) Carrington, Lord (Quentin Hogg) Hailsham, Lord (David) Young have been in a very small minority of peers who have run major departments and this Cabinet is makinga major contributions to their ranks.
These exceptions to the rule had an MP as their departmental deputy, able to answer questions and make statements, but as a member of the Cabinet, usually one of the nominal posts such as Paymaster-General or Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Ken Clarke, for example, first became a member of the Cabinet in this role, to David Young.
What's slightly extraordinary, this was the case with Mandelson prior to todays reshuffle and the problem is now doubled, is that not only are their departmental deputies not members of the Cabinet, they're not even part of the phalanx of people entitled or invited to attend. Statements on Transport and Business issues will now be made and answered by an MP not around the Cabinet table when they were discussed.
We've also seen today the revival of one of the more meaningless (to the world if not to the holder) titles in government, that of First Secretary of State, which Lord Mandelson now has. Indeed, not content with that honorary title, he's also scooped up that of Lord President, normally destined for Leader of the Lords or the Commons.
Of his 6 predecessors, 3 also held the (also meaningless) post of Deputy Prime Minister (Prescott, Heseltine, and the first post-holder, Rab Butler). 1 was deputy leader of his party (the first G Brown at the top of British politics), leaving Mandelson alongside Barbara Castle and Michael Stewart as non-deputy holders of the First Sec of State title.
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