The contrasting fates of Stephen Timms and Tommy McAvoy

The Mandelson reshuffle in October last year contained a surprising,

if barely reported, feature.

Since 1997, when Blair was first elected Prime Minister, and Nick

Brown was in his first incarnation as chief whip (incidentally, I

can't think of anyone else who's had two quite separate stints at

that job, whilst his party's been in government through the time)

Tommy McAvoy the MP for Rutherglen was Comptroller of HM Household,

the 3rd highest position in the whips office.

Few have lasted that long in the whips office, let alone in the same

post. He's the longest serving person in that position by a factor

of more than two since WWII. And then, for no obvious reason on the

surface of things, he was suddenly promoted to the deputy chief's

position. Did Brown (G and N) run out of people to put in that

position? Did they feel McAvoys loyalty warranted some reward

(though its scarely a massive leap)?

McAvoy's longevity in one position is contrasted by the merry-go-

round that Stephen Timms, the member for East Ham, one of the

members elected on the bumper day of by-elections on Euro-election

day 94 that also saw his fellow middle-ranking ministers Gerry

Sutcliffe and Margaret Hodge elected, and Chris Huhne's Eastleigh

seat go LibDem, has seen in his government career.

Not quite in government at the beginning he had to wait for the

first reshuffle in 98 to get a job. But since then, he has featured

in reshuffles with a remarkable frequency. I think he's been

reshuffled 11 times, once a year. He's usually done jobs in the

Treasury, Trade and Industry (as was) and Work and Pensions (as is).

His done his present job, 3rd down in the Treasury, 3 times now

(Nick Brown aside, you won't find many to do the same job twice).

He's also one of the few members of the government to be demoted, as

he once served in the Cabinet as Chief Secretary, before continuing

a government career outside of Cabinet.

If McAvoy and Timms represent opposing poles in consistency in

government positions, Timms' example perhaps represents the extreme

end of the scale of ministers spending insufficient time in one

post.