When I reported on PB yesterday that there were radical changes afoot the new May government i wasn't quite expecting this much.
MAY the force be with you ....
Do you think she's over done it?
Nope.
I keep harping on about this but it isn't a reshuffle. It's a new administration and government.
She's still stuck with a relatively tiny majority though. You don't think, in a year or two, her enemies will "get her"?
I think May is like Thatcher in one sense - she believes in 'doing the right thing' - and 'bugger the consequences' - as Thatcher famously retorted when going into an EU meeting 'what does it feel like to be on your own among the 12?' 'It doesn't matter if the other 11 are wrong'....
This is a May government - and will sink - or swim, by its own lights.....
Wasn't that quote about the Commonwealth and sanctions on South Africa?
It is clear that ridding the Tories of their perception as being from privilege, for privilege, is May's top priority. The rest almost feels secondary.
"We are hearing that BIS is to become the Business, Energy and Industry Department - a title which must raise questions about the future of DECC as a standalone department."
That supports a change in policy to pursue cheap energy. Good news!
She's trimming government and clearing out old shit. I particularly think that the BoJO/Fox/Davis appointments are very shrewd and should shut down all 'but will she really' type Brexit wobbles.
If DECC is dead can we hope that DFID is on the scaffold waiting for someone to kick away the chair? (Slash its budget and give the remnants to Boris).
At this rate she'll face both Labour and Real Labour/SDP2 in the autumn and win a landslide.
I'd like to see industry, energy and transport merged into a super Department for Infrastructure.
That's a good call. Changes so far seem well thought through, which is surprising given the severely curtailed timescale of the leadership contest.
I love the SoS for Trade role, much needed in the post-EU environment. Hopefully he'll disappear on a plane next week and not be seen on these shores again until Christmas. In a good way, of course.
Business and Energy under the same brief would also be welcome, should lead to less of the "green crap" that literally no-one else in the world is still doing in the face of uncompetitiveness.
Keeping Hunt at Health presumably means the Junior Doctors contract will be imposed and signals May's determination not to start her new administration by backing down in an industrial dispute.
Keeping Hunt at Health presumably means the Junior Doctors contract will be imposed and signals May's determination not to start her new administration by backing down in an industrial dispute.
I know he has his many critics, but Lord Feldman also needs replacing, as brilliant as Patrick McLoughlin is, he can't raise the money that Lord Feldman has, nor updated the Tory systems quite so efficiently.
I also think May might ease the wounds a bit by inviting Gove to head up a policy unit outside of the cabinet / government. He'd be awesome at that and wouldn't get a chance to scare the horses.
"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster."
Bloody hell does the Queen really approve the Conservative Party Chairman??
Keeping Hunt at Health presumably means the Junior Doctors contract will be imposed and signals May's determination not to start her new administration by backing down in an industrial dispute.
She's trimming government and clearing out old shit. I particularly think that the BoJO/Fox/Davis appointments are very shrewd and should shut down all 'but will she really' type Brexit wobbles.
If DECC is dead can we hope that DFID is on the scaffold waiting for someone to kick away the chair? (Slash its budget and give the remnants to Boris).
At this rate she'll face both Labour and Real Labour/SDP2 in the autumn and win a landslide.
Tim Montgomerie said that Mr Cameron put in a last wish appeal to spare the DFID budget. I hope she axes it. Perhaps she could delay it until we are out of the EU and direct favourable trade terms to v.poor nations?
Keeping Hunt at Health presumably means the Junior Doctors contract will be imposed and signals May's determination not to start her new administration by backing down in an industrial dispute.
Correct. Irrespective of one's views on the dispute, the BMA have been thoroughly beaten at politics.
"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster."
Bloody hell does the Queen really approve the Conservative Party Chairman??
I guess approving the second mindful of the first.
I wonder, all this radical change not just only people but of departments cannot have been dreamed up in the last week. TM must have been thinking about it for months, if not years, and I doubt by herself. So who are the other players in her backroom? Who are TM's advisors and confidants?
"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster."
Bloody hell does the Queen really approve the Conservative Party Chairman??
I posted the below last night, and i'm increasingly thinking option 2 looks the most likely. I expect an early election to deal with the sackings destabilising the minimajority. She would win soundly (no landslide though, Labour at near the floor already i think, and Lib Dems may recover nicely). Disappointing for me personally who was hoping for some Norway fudge on brexit, but if May is going to actually stick to her speech yesterday, and those are her aims, there are reasons to be cheerful (for those that liked the sound of her speech yesterday, which I did).
"May has gone very brexit heavy in the 'outward facing' brexit related departments. The reasons for this could be:
1) Scapegoating - she wants to ensure that any brexit FUBARs don't fall on her head. 2) Compromise - she was never a europhile remainer anyway, so no ideological reason to be against brexit, so why choose that hill to die on? Give the Bastards their Brexit and she may be able to crack on with what she really cares about without too much pushback. 3) Backsliding - A brexiteer can go for EU-lite in a way that a Remainer couldn't."
"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster."
Bloody hell does the Queen really approve the Conservative Party Chairman??
Not yet. But we may be applying for Royal Appointment status in view of the implosion of all opposition (apart from the SNP).
""By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, the Conservative Party, suppliers of public policy and good government"
"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster."
Bloody hell does the Queen really approve the Conservative Party Chairman??
I wonder, all this radical change not just only people but of departments cannot have been dreamed up in the last week. TM must have been thinking about it for months, if not years, and I doubt by herself. So who are the other players in her backroom? Who are TM's advisors and confidants?
Keeping Hunt at Health presumably means the Junior Doctors contract will be imposed and signals May's determination not to start her new administration by backing down in an industrial dispute.
It also keeps the fallout from the dispute associated with Jeremy Hunt. May can dispense with him after it's over without tarnishing her own name.
I also think May might ease the wounds a bit by inviting Gove to head up a policy unit outside of the cabinet / government. He'd be awesome at that and wouldn't get a chance to scare the horses.
Hannan will probably be picked up by David Davis for his knowledge of the EU, both he and Gove would do very well in a policy unit type role where big brains are needed. Would also keep Gove on the inside of the tent...
"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster."
Bloody hell does the Queen really approve the Conservative Party Chairman??
No, only the Duchy of Lancaster part
Thats not what the release says.
It's complex. The PM is appointing the party chairman, which is a party matter, but also appointing them to the cabinet via a sinecure (Duchy of Lancaster) so presumably the Crown needs to approve that. And it's either both or nothing.
Infrastructure will be a massive job. The harsh reality for the right is that big infrastructure projects need state funding and drive to make them happen. The state can borrow the large amounts of cash far cheaper than private industry and can accommodate the prolonged payback period.
So what major projects would this new department need to go after? 1. Housing. Remove all the banked land from greedy housebuilders. Remove the disincentive to councils to allow development on brownfield. Get building on a large scale 2. Heathrow. Its in the wrong place. But there's no alternative, so get on with it already 3. High Speed Rail - we need massive capacity increases in the medium term, so get on with it already 4. Roads - a million and one schemes could be started tomorrow, from resurfacing to pinchpoints to bypasses to major new routes. Get on with it 5. Energy. Hinkley Point was a bad deal and has gone cold. Build our own. And readress the tarriffs making wind and tidal hard to do - we should be leading the world developing new energy generation 6. Fibre Broadband. Most people can't get access to it and its up to a private monopoly to provide it. Remove Openreach from the equation and build it ourselves
"The Queen has been pleased to approve the appointment of Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP as Conservative Party Chairman and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster."
Bloody hell does the Queen really approve the Conservative Party Chairman??
No, only the Duchy of Lancaster part
Thats not what the release says.
Is every Cabinet position not technically approved by HMQ, given that it carries a salary?
Hold on, why is there a Duchy of Lancaster, but not a Duchy of York?
Or is it that Lancastrians need constant adult supervision?
1399 and the seizure of the throne by Henry IV. One of the queen's titles. Funnily enough the Yorkists nicked the duchy of Lancaster when they claimed the crown even though they had no right to it (the duchy that is).
Hold on, why is there a Duchy of Lancaster, but not a Duchy of York?
Or is it that Lancastrians need constant adult supervision?
You mean, why is there a Chancellorship and why is he in government? I think it's because the Duchy of Lancaster is the sovereign's private estate and source of income. So I guess the Chancellor is the equivalent role to a mediaeval steward for the Queen.
Ouch! Bit of a step down from yesterday's ministerial car. You'd think they'd call her a taxi.
By the way, does anyone know why the Government Car Service have a preference for German-made cars? From watching yesterday's footage it appears that only the PM has a British-made car. Maybe they're trying to get trade concessions from the Brexit negotiations by pointing out to Merkel how even our ministers use their cars!
Infrastructure will be a massive job. The harsh reality for the right is that big infrastructure projects need state funding and drive to make them happen. The state can borrow the large amounts of cash far cheaper than private industry and can accommodate the prolonged payback period.
So what major projects would this new department need to go after? 1. Housing. Remove all the banked land from greedy housebuilders. Remove the disincentive to councils to allow development on brownfield. Get building on a large scale 2. Heathrow. Its in the wrong place. But there's no alternative, so get on with it already 3. High Speed Rail - we need massive capacity increases in the medium term, so get on with it already 4. Roads - a million and one schemes could be started tomorrow, from resurfacing to pinchpoints to bypasses to major new routes. Get on with it 5. Energy. Hinkley Point was a bad deal and has gone cold. Build our own. And readress the tarriffs making wind and tidal hard to do - we should be leading the world developing new energy generation 6. Fibre Broadband. Most people can't get access to it and its up to a private monopoly to provide it. Remove Openreach from the equation and build it ourselves
Agree with the tone of your post if not all the details, but IANAE. We shoudl just get on wityh some STUFF certainly. HS2 I think is a daft idea but meh
With record low bond yields we can borrow some cash cheaply now, and infrastructure cash is largely spent on our own economy anyway so is reasonably "Keynesian" (Did I mention IANAE?)
I would like to see that tidal barrier thing across the Severn. Sod the seabirds they can fly away surely...
By the way, does anyone know why the Government Car Service have a preference for German-made cars? From watching yesterday's footage it appears that only the PM has a British-made car. Maybe they're trying to get trade concessions from the Brexit negotiations by pointing out to Merkel how even our ministers use their cars!
I assume it's a "multi-source" policy, for the same reason police don't all use the same cars.
If there is a recall, they don't all go out of service at the same time.
The Duchy of Lancaster is the Queen's second title and its holder is therefore a royal official. However, it now administers the Queen's private wealth and the title has no official duties as a result.
The Duke of York is a private member of the Royal family and his estate is therefore not a Crown matter. He has no estates because no Duke of York has inherited the title since 1461 and its estates have been merged into the Duchy of Lancaster as a result.
Comments
https://twitter.com/hrtbps/status/751562971277619200
She's trimming government and clearing out old shit. I particularly think that the BoJO/Fox/Davis appointments are very shrewd and should shut down all 'but will she really' type Brexit wobbles.
If DECC is dead can we hope that DFID is on the scaffold waiting for someone to kick away the chair? (Slash its budget and give the remnants to Boris).
At this rate she'll face both Labour and Real Labour/SDP2 in the autumn and win a landslide.
I await a call .... and have done so since that last incumbent, the Marquess of Breadalbane, died in 1922 ....
I love the SoS for Trade role, much needed in the post-EU environment. Hopefully he'll disappear on a plane next week and not be seen on these shores again until Christmas. In a good way, of course.
Business and Energy under the same brief would also be welcome, should lead to less of the "green crap" that literally no-one else in the world is still doing in the face of uncompetitiveness.
I also think May might ease the wounds a bit by inviting Gove to head up a policy unit outside of the cabinet / government. He'd be awesome at that and wouldn't get a chance to scare the horses.
Bloody hell does the Queen really approve the Conservative Party Chairman??
"May has gone very brexit heavy in the 'outward facing' brexit related departments. The reasons for this could be:
1) Scapegoating - she wants to ensure that any brexit FUBARs don't fall on her head.
2) Compromise - she was never a europhile remainer anyway, so no ideological reason to be against brexit, so why choose that hill to die on? Give the Bastards their Brexit and she may be able to crack on with what she really cares about without too much pushback.
3) Backsliding - A brexiteer can go for EU-lite in a way that a Remainer couldn't."
""By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen, the Conservative Party, suppliers of public policy and good government"
Celtic are apparently appealing the Gibraltar result.
Red Imps played a gas fitter in midfield who allegedly wasn't corgi registered.
Or is it that Lancastrians need constant adult supervision?
This is a very white cabinet.
Not that it bothers me either way, but weren't the Tories trying hard to tone down the whiteness?
Patel. Javid. Amiyah.
Any others?
So what major projects would this new department need to go after?
1. Housing. Remove all the banked land from greedy housebuilders. Remove the disincentive to councils to allow development on brownfield. Get building on a large scale
2. Heathrow. Its in the wrong place. But there's no alternative, so get on with it already
3. High Speed Rail - we need massive capacity increases in the medium term, so get on with it already
4. Roads - a million and one schemes could be started tomorrow, from resurfacing to pinchpoints to bypasses to major new routes. Get on with it
5. Energy. Hinkley Point was a bad deal and has gone cold. Build our own. And readress the tarriffs making wind and tidal hard to do - we should be leading the world developing new energy generation
6. Fibre Broadband. Most people can't get access to it and its up to a private monopoly to provide it. Remove Openreach from the equation and build it ourselves
Not even three days - she's not been PM 24 hours yet....
However the duchy has no lands or income because of the Wars of the Roses denuding it, so there's no sinecure chancellery attached.
'Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated...'
This is because he was treated on a week day and not a weekend :-)
This might be the longest two weeks of my life.
Someone pissed in Mensch's cornflakes this morning.
The original tweet was an observation more than a dig at Hunt.
By the way, does anyone know why the Government Car Service have a preference for German-made cars? From watching yesterday's footage it appears that only the PM has a British-made car. Maybe they're trying to get trade concessions from the Brexit negotiations by pointing out to Merkel how even our ministers use their cars!
http://hola.org/
With record low bond yields we can borrow some cash cheaply now, and infrastructure cash is largely spent on our own economy anyway so is reasonably "Keynesian" (Did I mention IANAE?)
I would like to see that tidal barrier thing across the Severn. Sod the seabirds they can fly away surely...
If there is a recall, they don't all go out of service at the same time.
I think Stephen Crabb got into a Toyota BTW.
Fire up the mid-priced saloons !
The Duke of York is a private member of the Royal family and his estate is therefore not a Crown matter. He has no estates because no Duke of York has inherited the title since 1461 and its estates have been merged into the Duchy of Lancaster as a result.