There are plenty of ways for Ministers to be bad.
A few muddle their private interests with their public duties. They claim costs they should not claim, pursue causes and decisions for people and businesses that have supported them, receive income and gifts they do not properly account for or should not have received. In extreme cases they commit crimes.
Many play politics instead of managing their departments and acting in the public interest. They think the way to deal with a problem in their department is to blame someone else, help a cover up or shunt the issue off to another Minister or department. If someone has a real problem the department could or should sort the Minister should not contribute to a long civil service delay in responding and should not allow out a cop out answer or a refusal to help.
Some bad Ministers are simply out of their depth. They read out civil service responses without understanding what has been written down. I remember sometimes in Opposition asking a Minister to explain a complex or abstruse sentence they had just read out. A bad Minister would wait for a reformulation from officials. If I was cruel enough to ask for that to be explained I was promised a written reply at a later date as they did not understand the civil service reformulation either. Sometimes the point I was making was that the prose was deliberately abstruse, ambiguous or wrong.
I remember serving on a Statutory Instrument Committee where a Labour Minister put before us a short SI setting out the annual housing grant monies by Council which needed Parliamentary approval. The Department was late with the SI owing to incompetence. I noticed immediately that the SI recorded all the full amounts of grant being paid but also had on it the statement that all amounts in the text were in £ millions. The lazy Minister and  all the officials had failed to spot that they were asking for approval for a total sum in excess of annual GDP! I proposed the Committee be abandoned and they came back another time with an accurate SI, as SI s cannot be amended in Committee under House rules. After anguished consultation the Labour Committee chairman and the government majority decided to just pass the wrong text!
A bad Minister either gets thrown out for bad conduct or leaves office with nothing positive to show for their period in office.
August 21, 2024
I cannot think of a single decent minister in the present administration.
Not one. Truly dreadful. The appalling Sunak Govt. suddenly looks quite refreshing.
Just what have the good people amongst us done to deserve this? Shocking calibre of politicians utterly out for themselves.
August 21, 2024
We went along with the party list for decades. Thatâs what the âgoodâ people did. They have allowed the political class to choose who sits in parliament.
They gave up democracy, because in a democracy itâs the people who propose, select and eventually elect who represents them.
August 21, 2024
Indeed, but even if we can choose the representatives most will still not do what they promised before the election. Direct democracy is the only real democracy.
August 21, 2024
Who does the counting? There were some novel variations reported by some candidates at the last election, so that the count could be scrutinised. But were they counting the votes cast?
August 21, 2024
@ Lynn âThey have allowed the political class to choose who sits in parliament.â Indeed, which of course means these MPs respond to the party leadership and rather ignore the voters – as we have seen for the last 14 years in spades. The voter wanted far lower taxes, smaller government, far less red tape, less low skilled immigration levels, decent public services, police who actually deter crime, cheap reliable on demand energy, more houses⊠but we got the exact reverse on all counts.
August 21, 2024
LL,
Good manifesto if it could be delivered! Reform are the only Conservative Party to even try it!
August 21, 2024
The Tory Party is now truly abysmal – so it’s hard to disagree with you even though I really want to.
August 21, 2024
Reform are the only conservatives in town.
August 21, 2024
Meanwhile in âConservative Homeâ John Redwood has an article on the uniparty.
Despite having a new editor, Conservative Home is still the same old, same old.
The first reply agrees that âyes there is a unipartyâ but this is inevitable and a good thing. There is only one âpragmaticâ approach and voters for it, blah, blah, blahâŠ
August 21, 2024
It astounds me to see that David Lammy is Foreign Secretary and Angela Rayner is the Deputy Prime Minister, Itâs like a bad dream and embarrassing for this great country. The calibre of Ministers in the present Labour government is extremely concerning. I really canât think of one Labour Minster who is capable of doing the job.
Iâm hoping that theyâre going to be held to account after the summer recess, but will it be too late? Thank goodness for Reform MPs, especially Nigel Farage who will call them out and not hold back. The Conservative Party arenât what they used to be and many of the really good MPs have gone. I wish we could fill the seats with John Redwoodâs, Bill Cashâs, Dominic Raabâs, Jacob Rees Moggâs, Boris Johnsonâs, Ian Duncan Smithâs and Anne Widdecombeâs, to name just a few. But there you go, we have this lot, very, very worrying.
August 21, 2024
Worst of all Ed Miliband the deluded net zero zealot.
August 21, 2024
Boris oven-ready but uncooked Johnson?
August 21, 2024
Pathetic really. These hang-on organisations depend on getting speakers etc and end up owned. I have not read anything on Conservative Home for years.
August 21, 2024
The uni-party has alas entirely the wrong policies as we have seen for circa 30 years. 180 degrees out on nearly every single issue. Especially Net Zero, the EU, tax levels, energy policy, transport policy immigration levels, housing, healthcareâŠ
August 21, 2024
Not a single decent minister. Indeed – Stasi Starmer, Two Tier Kier, David Lammy, Cooper Balls and the mad net zero Zealot Ed Miliband plus Angela Tory scum, scum, scum Raynor and dishonest Reeves who seems to thing VAT on school fees and abolition of Non Doms will raise net funds – bonkers dear.
Labourâs war on history is a war on the nation itself
The fear is that Wales will turn out to be a prototype for the rest of the country, with sinister consequences
ROBERT TOMBS in the Telegraph today is surely right.
As is David Starkeyâs excellent video – The British are Second class Citizens in their own Country.
August 21, 2024
Let’s hope Reform’s planned rise in Wales bears fruit. We see three councillor defections to Reform this week and they intend to build support for the next Senedd elections due to be held before May ’26. It’s up to all of us, including Sir John, to fight for the survival of our country. We owe it to future generations just like our ancestors fought to protect this country for us.
August 21, 2024
Letâs hope Reform interviews their candidates. They have not done so thus far. They are introducing themselves when they win, and there are no associations to have selected them. Who are they?
August 21, 2024
@ Andrew Jones âThe appalling Sunak Govt. suddenly looks quite refreshing.â
well hardly – preferable perhaps, but how could voters reward again a party that has lied and not even tried to deliver on four manifestos? One with a leader who tells us he will stop the boats, has cut taxes and that the Covid Vaccines were unequivocally safe. How did he get on with his Moderna interests?
A leader who managed to blame Truss and get her removed for the economic collapse and inflation that he so clearly caused with his lockdowns, vaste covid waste, borrowing and QE currency debasement. Look like we might get Jenrick a Sunak continuation candidate.
August 21, 2024
Did you see that Reeves is going to âexclude the losses of the Bank of Englandâ from the balance sheet?
You could stop them making losses or you could just cheat.
They cheat.
They are not good enough for Britain.
August 21, 2024
The Sunak government and the one since Cameron deserved what happened to it. No regrets. We all knew what was coming would be even worse. Voting for a less bad option has got us nowhere over the years.
At the moment I believe there is a calm before the storm. Starmer may think a tough response has seen off protest, but the issues have not gone away. Proclaiming to the media that there were a hundred riots about to erupt and the police defeated them wonât fool many. A winter of discontent awaits. Events will be much more carefully organised and targeted. Protesters will not go quietly. Police will be injured. People will not now allow themselves to be arrested so easily.
August 21, 2024
The last Conservative government wasn’t, in my view, ‘bad’, but most if not all members were inexperienced, both in their careers before politics, and within it. There should be a minimum ‘life experience’ qualification applied at selection, then when elected a period of apprenticeship before taking a senior ministerial position. Sunak was a clear example, a good man, very clever, but inexperienced.
The present lot appear to have a ‘religious’ zeal about them; socialist dogma, the more extreme the better, appears to be the main qualification for senior position.
Life experience and political experience together would equip a mentally well-balanced minister to handle the civil service.
August 21, 2024
It is the ONLY government that gave over the reins completely to a set of functionaries. They proceeded to bully the people to a level never imagined before.
It was without question and by a military mile. The absolute worst!
August 21, 2024
I kept supporting Sunak ’cause the alternative (Labour) was just too abysmal to consider. So many Tories knocked Sunak when he needed their support to try and build up the party again. Then once he had achieved that, then we could have all had fisticuffs about what kind of Tory Party we want and policies. But now we can’t even have fisticuffs as too many Tories lost their seats and we are left with mainly poor to some middling Tory MPs – and now we could face from 5 to 10 years of Labour (depressing beyond words).
August 21, 2024
Hugely depressing, but Sunak destroyed the party by:- wasting ÂŁbillions on net harm lockdowns and net harm vaccines, doubling the debt, debasing the currency, setting up the Truss problems, knifing Boris, knifing Truss, Making and failing on all but one of his pledges, failing to even try to cut immigration (legal or illegal) and worse of all lying (?) that the Covid vaccines were unequivocally safe when this is clearly complete and utter drivel. Just look at the abundant and hugely depressing stats. both UK and overseas.
August 21, 2024
Just one that may be worth watching – Wes Streeting at health, time will tell but for me he does make some interesting comments.
August 21, 2024
He does occasionally say somethings that are sensible – will probably be kicked out for âbullyingâ civil servants or something.
August 21, 2024
John Stonehouse , Labour and Ernest Marples, Conservative were noteworthy baddies and ministers.
Liberal Democrats did not have many ministers, but there was Chris Huhne and his driving conviction story.
Lloyd George, Liberal and insider trading too.
August 21, 2024
+1 Andrew Jones
You sum up our dire situation perfectly.
August 21, 2024
Surely the worst of all Ministers was Badenoch? I can think of not a single other instance where a Minister inherits a brilliantly drawn up, desperately needed Bill which as passed through ALL the stages in the House of Commons, and then unilaterally withdraws the Bill – saying it was at the advice of the Civil Servants.
After bad comes Badenoch. And to some Tories, she seems to be the best choice for Tory leader.
Time to call a halt to this sh 1 t show! We canât continue. We need to hang onto democracy and elect those who Rule us – the civil servants.
August 21, 2024
We need far more direct democracy. How can electing MP (usually only two or three candidate with any chance under FPTP) who promise one thing and do the complete reverse be described as democracy? Under the Tories we have just had four manifestos and terms where they did not even try to deliver what they promised. Even now they do not seem to realise why they became quite so hugely despised. The 200 odd MPs left are still pro net zero, pro open door immigration, pro ever higher taxes, pro EU, pro net harm vaccines, pro the war on landlords and car drivers⊠Labour light at best.
JR says âthat the prose was deliberately abstruse, ambiguous or wrongâ surely not – they are always such honest and forthright people! Alas then they are they are usually just lying:- We have/will cut taxes, the covid vaccines were unequivocally safe, we will stop the boats, to the tens of thousands, we will increase IHT thresholds to ÂŁ1m each, the Covid vaccines and lockdowns saved millions of lives, net zero will create net jobs, cutting CO2 in the UK will prevent forest fire in Greece, cycling and walking saves CO2âŠ
August 21, 2024
Of the 200 odd Tory MPs left about 90% are essentially just dire Libdems how can anyone lead such green crap, tax to death, pro EU, big government people in the right direction?
Robert Jenerick still in love with the deluded net zero agenda as I suspect is Kemi. Jenrick was a dire Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (2019â2021) with his idiotic warcon Landlords.
Reply There are just 121 who won as official Conservative candidates
August 21, 2024
They may have obtained the ‘official Conservative’ label, but I wonder how many really are?
August 21, 2024
I am and expert and a give you the exact number – 0!
August 21, 2024
Looking at the leadership race, I’d say none …..its one-nation tory or its one-nation tory …aka LibDem lite
August 21, 2024
To Reply: Thanks sorry I did know, but having a senior moment 100 odd I ment, of whom no more than about 15 are real small government Conservatives & almost non want to ditch the moronic net zero economic suicide agenda. So if the Tories do get a leader with a working compass they will not follow them and if they get another, Sunak like one, Jenrick (another deluded net zero zealot) for example the party is surely rightly doomed.
Dale Vince on Talk Radio asked about EV car battery life. âThe batteries will last the life of the carâ more like âthe car will last the life of the batteriesâ mate, so say 7-8 years (see the battery guarantee and small print often just 60% capacity after 5 years esp. if fast charging is used much). So car likely to cost ÂŁ1 to ÂŁ2 a mile just in finance and depreciation. Keeping your old car more like 20p a mile all in, cheaper on tyres & insurance too and far more flexible and practical. Refilled in three mins for another 800 miles and no need to have home parking and charging.
August 21, 2024
EV cause more CO2 not less too Dale.
August 21, 2024
I assume she was ordered to or resign by Sunak. She should have resigned.
August 21, 2024
Was it REALLY her who pulled the plug? Or did she take the fall for Sunak?
August 21, 2024
Either way she stood at the Despatch box and withdrew a Bill (which JR pointed out) had passed ALL the stages in the HOC. It repealed damaging EU laws. Many were ones we had voted against in the EU and lost.
Because of Badenoch the U.K. remains solidly aligned to the EU when a massive step in the right direction had been taken!
Itâs unforgivable, I cannot conceive how she was allowed to remain in the Party.
August 21, 2024
LA : You may have seen it already Lynn but eight MPs now backing her publicly for leader apparently -Daily T article “Left and Right come together to back K B for the Tory Leadership” ( A report by two MPs – one supposedly of the Right and one of the Left ) They seem to think she has a record of saying what’s needed, not what’s easy …. Would not be my first choice but the on line percentage ‘votes’ on the DT site show her well above Mr Jenrick (2nd) and all the others.
August 22, 2024
Who cares what they say? Itâs what they do that matters. We know that she kow tows to the civil service. She is marginally worse than Johnson.
August 21, 2024
Lynn
How ?
I guess Orders from above, she would not have done it on her own, without consultation.
August 22, 2024
A resigning matter. She should have resigned and explained to the nation why. That would have cooked the Sunak goose earlier.
August 22, 2024
It was noticeable that she did it shortly after returning from Davos. I wonder if she received some “guidance” about her likely chances of becoming Leader if she didn’t withdraw it.
August 21, 2024
Excellent Lynne.
Which candidate for leader will allow members to choose their MP? Guido shows Cleverly and Patel leading the polls, both allowed mass immigration- legal and illegal!
Cleverly rules out leaving ECHR so any of his plans for illegal immigration fails! Head HO mandarin Rycroft got a ÂŁ30,000 bonus on top of his ÂŁ180,000 salary for what exactly? Cleverly sat alongside him when questioned by the select committee on immigration. Have a look, both were absolutely dire and Cleverly trying to pretend to look for something in his folder!
I suppose Cooper will target and label Cleverly as an extremist for his joke about his wife concerning the date rape drug!
August 21, 2024
Fascinating that Cooper can repatriate 14,000. We were told it was impossible to repatriate a single one. What a great line that was.
If we can repatriate 1,000 then we can repatriate 1,000,000 or even 7,000,000.
August 21, 2024
Cleverly no thanks too daft, Patel perhaps but she will never get the Con-Socialist MPs to follow her.
August 21, 2024
Patel doesn’t have the brains to lead this country.
August 21, 2024
Perhaps you would list who does? It is likely to take you only a few minutes of thought producing a VERY short list?
August 21, 2024
Brains has rarely stopped people look at John Major, let’s give the gold away Gordon Brown, the dire Ted Heath, the appalling US extradition treaty and war on a lie Blair, lockdowns,QE and net harm vaccines Sunak, the dim geography grad May..
August 21, 2024
Good comment.
If Badenoch is the best the Tories can offer as leader, then the Tory Party and the country is screwed – politically.
Farage is not much better. Tice is better but not great either.
But only wimps give up. So the number 1 priority of next Tory Conference is how to attract higher quality MPs into Parliament (for policy and all that – you can’t have policies without a strong leader and back-up team to implement).
August 21, 2024
It’s been reported that Britain gave over half a million pounds to an opera organisation in Shanghai and another large sum to a no doubt very good cause in Malaysia’s capital city Kuala Lumpur. This under the heading “Foreign aid”. Why, when councils in this country are desperately short of money for social case and child services, not to mention filling potholes? I wonder which minister signed this off. The Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, the government department which I believe handled the aid budget, changed almost every year in the seven years of the department’s existence. The civil servants would have stayed much the same, though. Someone was lobbied, possibly by the British Council in the first case.
August 21, 2024
ÂŁ3.5 billion to Africa plus an additional ÂŁ84 million new money from Two Tier Keir without knowing how or what the money will be wasted on! Not even linked to British business, interest or return policy for illegal immigrants!
It might occur to Labour China is trying to control sub Sahara Africa and indo pacific region without wasting money but forcing indebtedness to control the region.
August 21, 2024
So thatâs just the Aid budget, not what the commonwealth gets from us from a different pocket? And of course countries which never were in the British Empire now can join the Commonwealth – Mozambique did – to get their share of âthe common wealthâ I.e. the wealth created by thee and me.
Time for the Monarchy to retire and to take their plaything – the Commonwealth with them. It was only ever an excuse for âworld toursâ.
Britain, having granted independence to each of the countries of the Empire and supplied a stunning dowry to go with it, now ask for our own independence from them!
August 21, 2024
Phil P,
FCO hands out our taxes around the world as Guido points out.
Lammy now funds the UN group who helped attack Israel during the 07/10/23 attack!! Lammy also has removed objections for Israel PM to prosecuted!! The anti semic Labour Party still in force and thriving for the Muslim vote!
August 21, 2024
There was a certain Conservative Minister for International Development who when asked why we were giving aid to nuclear armed India said something along the lines of “If we don’t, then girls will not be educated there”… Surely the point was if India can spend money on nuclear armaments then they should have enough to educate girls and not rely on British handouts.
August 21, 2024
Malaysia will be joining BRICS in the not-too-distant future:
The Hindu.com,20/8/24:”India,Malaysia upgrade strategic partnership,discuss BRICS membership.”Indian PM Modi has also confirmed that the two countries are using their own currencies in their bilateral trade.
Malaymail.com,28/7/24:”Russia welcomes Malaysia’s bid to join BRICS says Lavrov.”
And Azerbaijan is following suit following President Putin’s visit there this week:
“Politico.eu,20/8/24:”Azerbaijan launches bid to join BRICS after Putin visit.”
Kitco.com,19/8/24:”BRICS Bridge digital payment system ‘will be a bombshell globally’-Chair of Russia’s Federation Council.”…Take cover!
August 21, 2024
I think Ministers being out of their depth is going to take on a whole new meaning under this government, and move to a whole new level.
I wonder what the sentence will be for letting them know you’ve noticed?
August 21, 2024
So many people seem to say that, despite their initial fears, the King has followed his motherâs example and kept out of politics. What planet are these people on? He is a totally deluded, politically active, grade one, net zero hypocrite and is hugely political too on immigration levels, organic food, renewable (where he profit hugely). Not only very political but totally deluded.
August 21, 2024
Absolutely. It’s a real shame the late Queen wasn’t able to hang on for a few more years.
August 21, 2024
The Queen was excellent and Charles had an excellent role model. It is a shame he is unable or unwilling to follow her example. Charles is a poster boy for republicanism. His left wing views in line with theirs.
August 21, 2024
Don’t left wingers despise monarchy?
August 21, 2024
+1
August 21, 2024
I covered this yesterday. The problem starts with the control at Candidate Selection exerted by the party machine at HQ. Selection should be in the hands of the local party and members. It is essential that any candidate comes from a successful career, and absolutely not from the school, uni (PPE), party gopher, MP route. If the latter is the starting point for ministerial office, you get the plant from the seed you sow.
While many Civil Servants are no doubt excellent, the whole, while within the EU, enjoyed enjoyed an excess of power. There needs to be a great legal contractual reset between the CS and those in democratically elected power. The meaningless CS answers to MP’s questions, or those of Ministers, should be a sackable offense. I would take control of the recruitment process, such that 50% should come from 30 plus year olds enjoying successful careers; but with the added desire of public service. The two departments in most need of such refreshment being the Treasury and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
Those responsibility offsets we call quangos should cease to exist. Responsibilities for whatever they do should revert to the CS and politicians within ministries.
Lastly from my pool of highly professional MPs were I PM, I could start matching experience with ministerial appointments. That way SJR, you might well have ended up as Chancellor.
August 21, 2024
Agreed and mirrors many of the points I made yesterday as well.
A Prime Minister gets the Ministers they deserve, because they choose the candidates for those positions.
August 21, 2024
Labour are putting labour activists in key civil service positions and quangos. Stalin Starmer has wasted no time. Grey will operating at pace. Who is challenging Labour? A letter by Laura Trott!
August 21, 2024
It is worth reporting (via Daily Mail) that Sue Grey (Chief of Staff), famous or infamous? report into illegal gatherings at Downing Street during Covid lockdowns, has a son Liam Conlon, who has been made a ministerial aide ( parliamentary private secretary ) to the Department of Transport. Just an MP for a few weeks he managed to achieve second place in the list of receiving highest Union Payments, ÂŁ28.000.
August 21, 2024
Would that be the same Sue Grey that Boris took advice from ….she probably gave advice and policy to all the tory ministers
August 21, 2024
She presumably got the nod from the leftie mass of political CS ?
I thought all CS were forbidden from any activity of a political nature – I suppose Blair encouraged them to repeal the rule?
August 21, 2024
The entire problem can be categorised as the advent of âthe professional politicianâ. That is precisely what we need to be rid of.
We need to revert to the part-time politician who is a man of substance in his own life. Very very rare are those like JR, able to contribute at a very young age.
Just to point out how rare JR is, one of my cousins entered university 2 weeks before his 16th birthday. He read law and chose a foreign speaking university – translating from that language into and out of Latin. So he had great ability, like JR. But he quickly found the world a dull place and ended up on hard drugs. He was not able to utilise himself and that is the unsung heroic aspect of JR added to his great ability.
August 21, 2024
Sir John Redwood could easily be PM but he has to update his politics a bit to what the country needs now and that is to focus more on The High Tech industry (instead of just the Financial and Consumer Markets – important as they are), really focus on helping entrepreneurs more, help to rebuild the North and look at how to help the car industry so that we can try and create the British brand versions of the Audis / BMWs / Golfs of the future. Lastly, I think he would need to figure out how to attract higher quality Tory MPs into Parliament and how to work with the churches, media, arts and education to help instil traditional Cultural values back into the country. Other than that, I agree with him. But he has to update his views, if he wants to be elected to senior office and if he does, he could now EASILY lead our country etc / at least be Chancellor, even at his age – no problem. I support John Redwood as long as he focuses on these 6 things (in addition to all the other things I AGREE with him on).
1. HIGH TECH.
High Tech Industry overall / UK as world’s Second Silicon Valley (possibly in Cambridge area and then Oxford area)
2. ENTREPRENEURS.
Really focusing on helping entrepreneurs in general, above all, Tech entrepreneurs
3. NORTH
Develop the North (in particular with Hight Tech and focusing on Manchester-Leeds-Sheffied)
4. CARS
Help create UK car brands of the future to rival the German
5. QUALITY TORIES
Do something to attract higher quality Tories into Parliament
CULTURE
6. Cultural Conservatism / Promoting Tory Cultural values by working closely with the churches, arts, media and education.
August 21, 2024
There are two more options, Sir John; which seems to apply to quite a few of them.
A bad Minister just gets shuffled off to another Department, either leaving their failures for someone else to tackle (ie Hunt and Shapps) or they get promoted to Prime Minister where they can REALLY cause damage (ie Sunak).
Our whole system of Government needs Reform. It may have worked in the 19th and early 20th centuries, before Blair politicised the Civil Service and the era of “career” PPE (Pretty Poorly Educated) Ministers dawned.
August 21, 2024
Constantly moving ministers from one department to another gives the government the opportunity to grab the headlines with another ‘cabinet reshuffle’ every now and then. This can be timed so as to push unwelcome news off the front pages, and in any case gives the public the impression that some kind of policy renewal can be expected. It’s all image-building, the minister isn’t expected to really do anything much. That’s left to the civil servants, it seems.
August 21, 2024
We have seen with civil service, they are placed into new roles! Bring back employment status of crown servants so sacking them is easy. Tory govt could not even get civil servants back in the office. The worse being HMRC and Foreign Office. FO would not go back to office to help save lives in running away from Afghanistan!!
There needs to be huge savings with welfare, why is right for the state to pay for top of range cars for disability! They use to have a standard blue car. No benefits for immigrants unless they have been here and worked for ten years. No more child benefit for EU children who never set foot here!
August 21, 2024
Bad ministers should not be appointed in the first place. They should have to pass a high quality Ministers Entrance Exam beforehand, judged by a qualified Select Committee. Realising they are bad only after allowing all the damage they cause to happen is a reckless way of running a sensible country.
August 21, 2024
Let us add another example of a bad minister. Not one who is corrupt, evasive, or out of his depth, but someone who is so deeply wedded to a personal ideological conviction and so determined to inflict it that he is incapable of appreciating how little benefit, indeed how much harm, it brings to those upon whom it is inflicted.
Stand up and take a bow, Ed Miliband, green zealot and architect of the Climate Change Act, a “monstrous act of self harm” (in the words of Nick Timothy, now an MP, when he was Theresa May’s SPAD many years ago) even before the original 80% benchmark was ratcheted up to 100% – Net Zero – as part of May’s toxic legacy.
August 21, 2024
@David Cooper +1
Does his register of interest include all those that have bought his favour?
August 21, 2024
The register of interests for all MPs (761 pages of it as a .pdf) as of 04/08/2024 is available at publications.parliament.uk âRegister of Membersâ Financial Interests – 2024 Parliamentâ
August 21, 2024
Plus one
August 21, 2024
At the least we need a name change and new job description as they are neither civil or believe themselves SERVANTS!
August 21, 2024
The last couple of years have shown the electorate and especially the majority have no protection from a government that goes away from what they were elected to do and the interests of the country. The recent events have highlighted just how disconnected government is from the majority but it must be remembered that the underlying issues and problems were already there and being nurtured by the Conservatives.
I suggest we need to move towards direct democracy where the electorate get to have a say in what laws are being passed, the best balance perhaps being the Swiss hybrid system. I also think we need a written constitution along the USA lines.
August 21, 2024
Sir John
The number one failing is understanding the notion of democracy as interpreted in free societies to mean â âgovernment of the people, by the people, for the peopleâ.
The number two failing is to allow the notion to persist that governments have money of their own, their own personal money that they can hand out for personal self-gratification.
August 21, 2024
Bad Ministers. I suggest that has been the real problem with a succession of Governments over the past 30 years. Their incompetence or even lack of knowledge and experience has allowed the Civil Service to take over their jobs and de facto, run their departments, with the Minister as the titular head, in name only. And look where that lot has taken us. Down and down into a socialist quagmire. I’m sure it is the same case within the EU too.
August 21, 2024
Your description sounds more like a ‘Typical’ Minister to me, from what one saw from the last Government, and while it is perhaps too early to tell with the present Government, there is no discernable sign so far of things being any better.
August 21, 2024
Sir John
You have also answered the question of the ânone of the aboveâ, all the while selection of candidates is forced on constituencies from outside the constituency the trend for âbad ministersâ will continue. Loyalty to a gang leader is not the same as serving the electorate.
You have also outlined the problem with all contrived voting systems other the FPTP, to get rid of just one bad minster you have to remove a whole group good or bad in the alternative systems. The electorate is removed from its purpose â to hold people, individuals, to account.
The purity of âgovernment of the people, by the people, for the peopleâ. Where the candidates are selected, funded and elected by those they wish to represent may now due to the inherent corruption of our Parliament and its MPs be just a pipe dream. But that shouldnât negate that all efforts from those we pay and empower to get it back â that should be their overriding principle, job, what ever complexion or gang they feel compelled to serve out of misguided loyalty and bigotry
August 21, 2024
So Penny Mordaunt lost her seat because she was unpopular as under FPTP people elect or reject people according to how they rate them. FPTP is about the worst system because it disenfranchises a very high proportion of the electorate whose votes have NO effect on the outcome and who actually would prefer to be able to vote for whom they want rather than against whom they would wish to remove. If you think that voters rate candidates irrespective of the party they represent, then you clearly infer more interest or wisdom in the average voter than he deserves
.
August 21, 2024
@forthurst – Penny Mordaunt lost her seat due to not having enough people wanting her as their MP. FPTP did not disenfranchise anyone. Having candidates chosen by a party leadership disenfranchises the electorate, the electorate is offered someone that is loyal to the person that chose them to stand not to the constituents or the country. All the alternative systems reinforce that is the party machinery that chooses candidates based on their obedience to their gang leader.
Daniel Hannan, famously reinforced the flaws in these alternative voting systems, when he said whilst standing to be a MEP, ‘People ask me why I am not canvassing to be elected, I don’t have to, was his response’ He was number 1 on the Conservative party list, he was the selected therefore elected MEP. The only way to remove him would be for ‘everyone’ not to vote Conservative. So coming back to ‘Bad Ministers’? to remove them, just one, would require the removal of all in their party both good and bad
August 21, 2024
It seems that we have had far too many bad ministers over the last few decades, considering what a diabolical mess the country is in.
Like all things woke, promotion in government does not rely on talent or hard work, which accounts for the reasons behind many bad ministers. Favouritism and a bit of charisma usually wins the day in politics.
The solution would seem to be to keep the vacuous, inept and immoral out of Parliament.
August 21, 2024
âSome bad Ministers are simply out of their depth. They read out civil service responses without understanding what has been written down.â
There is no worse department than the oxymoronically named DESNZ. Not only is there no minister with science or engineering knowledge but there are no engineers amongst the spads or even worse within the senior management of the DESNZ, the CCC, Ofgem, National Grid (ESO) etc etc.
Furthermore, although the latest NG ESO Future Energy Scenario (FES) calls for âmajor decisionsâ to be taken within the next two years in order to achieve Net Zero by 2050 there are no costings for the various possible âpathwaysâ (as they call them) and absolutely no discussion allowed by any engineers or engineering professional bodies on how Net Zero can be achieved.
Neither is there any discussion with the public regarding the âcustomer engagementâ and âbehavioural changesâ (via energy rationing) which the NG ESO FES say is needed to achieve Net Zero. The BBC have deliberately not only shut down a discussion of CAGW but also any debate on how to achieve Net Zero. So the Marxist transition to becoming a âclean energy superpowerâ is akin to being trapped in a vehicle heading at speed towards a cliff edge.
August 21, 2024
+1
August 21, 2024
You are right, Sir John, that bad ministers are useless, and the blunt truth is we have had too many of those in the last 30 years. Our present FPTP system is fine, but democracy should not stop there. Too many MPs and Ministers ignore the voters once they are safely in office for five years. So two proposals to fix it.
The first proposal is to introduce a recall petition for every MP, including the PM and Ministers. This would allow voters to voice their dissatisfaction if they feel their representatives are not fulfilling their promises or adequately representing them. To ensure fairness, this recall petition could be limited to two instances during an MP’s term, thereby preventing misuse. Those who are governing and representing the voters effectively should have no reason to fear such a petition.
Second, major policy changes, like Net Zero, should be subject to a referendum, the result of which must be honoured. The Brexit referendum result was deliberately undermined by a combination of most MPs, almost the whole of the House of Lords, and the majority of the Civil Service. That is where the rot set in, and all these people forgot they are servants of the people, not our Masters. Also, the worst individual in this respect was the current PM, so who can trust him now about anything?
Second, major policy should be subject to a referendum, as Brexit was. That is where the rot set in when the Remain supporters ignored the result and did everything to overturn it., At that point, we then knew too many MPs, virtually the whole of the House of Lords , and the Civil Service had become too powerful, and too arrogant to accept the will of the people
August 21, 2024
Reading today’s MsM, the question arises is how come the impartial Civil Service is seemingly full of Labour Party activists? – Everyone is entitled to a political viewpoint, and is entitled to vote in which ever-way they wish, but when it comes to part of the impartial section of the functions of government political ideology, bigotry should be more than arms length. There is no place for views just pure clinical methodical serving the Government of the day therefore the people of the Country
August 21, 2024
‘pursue causes and decisions for people and businesses that have supported them’
Something that has literally just happened, with Labour ministers – on the flimsiest pretexts – pushing through massive wage rises for the unions that have bankrolled their offices and campaigns.
August 21, 2024
It is interesting how some Ministers (Conservatives mostly) are made to take responsibility for failures by their civil servants but some (Ed Davey) are able to blame the civil servants and absolve themselves from any responsibility. It will be interesting to what happens now that both ministers and civil servants are on the same political side – maybe they will just refuse to acknowledge that there have been any failures. It is a pity we seem to have no leader of the opposition (where is he ?) to announce that following Labourâs example when they get back into power theyâll offer senior civil service posts to their own donors and supporters.
August 21, 2024
How much credence should we place in the idea that the civil service has its own agenda and sometimes slips in wording that either neuters legislation of which they disapprove or provides a different reading? I have heard this from both the media and politicians. One thinks of the Online Safety Bill which could predictably be weaponised against viewpoints of which a leftist government disapproves, i.e. conflating a desire to control immigration with racism and hate speech.
Is it a major problem? Is the solution that ministers carefully read legislation in toto before sending it to parliament?
August 21, 2024
Bad ministers who love EVs because the green party & the UN IPCC told them so …..well they should have listened to the people/consumer
‘Ford abandons electric vehicle plans despite being left with massive ÂŁ1.1billion net zero cost ‘ GB News reporting
August 21, 2024
Sir John
Thank you, just about sums up the mess that Cameron, May, Johnson then Sunak created for the Country and the Conservative Party.
https://conservativehome.com/2024/08/21/john-redwood-conservatives-need-to-be-honest-about-where-we-were-was-too-close-to-labour-orthodoxy/
More of the same as is proposed by the continuity leadership candidates, those that have had collective responsibility for the state of the party and the country will not break the cycle of decline.
The World is a mixed-up place with so many wishing to manipulate it for their own purposes, there is only one single minded way to stay ahead of the game and that is to have a ârealâ flexible, resilient and self-reliant economy creating the massive wealth needed to be able counter whatever is thrown at us.
We have had many years of tax growth that has literally squeezed the life blood out of the Country. Perversely there is now an embedded belief that tax is earning, that then funds the economy..? Its all backwards.
Governments have lost their purpose. Itâs the economy that grows the Countries wealth not removing money from the economy by way of tax.
We have had many years of growing the State, many years of inadequate individuals letting their self-esteem believe they can run productive profitable enterprises from within Government. The Government, the State, Quangos, the Civil Service their meddling is a drain on the Country they should be transparent just nudging the release of the Country from their ego inspired yoke so that we can all cash in on everyoneâs achievements.