UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

Side note, but would it be fair to say Wallace is in the running for greatest recent Defence Secretary, with the understanding that the baseline isn't particularly high?

[brucejoel99]

Side note, but would it be fair to say Wallace is in the running for greatest recent Defence Secretary, with the understanding that the baseline isn't particularly high?

Less that Wallace is significantly (as opposed to marginally) more competent than any of his 3 direct predecessors & more that he just drew the luck of being last in the chair at/after peak turnover for the role; it was the cessation of such turnover, under Wallace by happenstance, that finally allowed the ministry to stabilize & actually develop proper strategy, both domestically & as it relates to international partners. Now, with British aid to Ukraine going off without a hitch & with his eye on NATO Sec. Gen. next year, it's just easiest for Sunak to keep him there (& not unnecessarily burn such a bridge in the process of firing him) wait to appoint his own choice a year from now.



New appointments:
https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584976794574548992https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584978439286980609

[brucejoel99]

Hunt's 2nd deputy in as many weeks:

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584980083265372160

[Cassius]

Harper finally gets back into cabinet after six years of desperate trying.

Buckland pays the price

Added indignity of being replaced by a certifiable moron.

Was going to say - he’s the kind of backbench total crazy I’d lump in with the likes of Philip Davies, Christopher Chope, and Philip Hollobone, not anyone who should ever be remotely near a cabinet post.

Problem is that all of the other Welsh Conservative MPs either have minimal parliamentary experience or have done the job before and aren't available for the post (Simon Hart is Chief Whip, both Stephen Crabb and Alun Cairns departed due to scandals and David Jones is in his seventies), which is why I suspect that Buckland got the role in the interim (Buckland is also Welsh, even though he sits for an English seat).

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584981124681728001

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584982650145898498

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584981124681728001

It's a testament to Mercer's personal brand and charisma that he's been reappointed to a position that he's already held twice - resigning once over NI policy disagreements*, and once being fired (then immediately shared the details of the firing in an interview with Alastair Campbell where he threatened to leave the party).

_{*I'm not going to go into detail here - but it was messy, controversial, and any further discussion risks triggering an old fashioned argument about culpability in the Troubles.}

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584984292387872769

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584984292387872769

Ah - so Williamson is back in from the cold, as Minister for Ratf***ing and Party Discipline.

[Cassius]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584984292387872769

Not Minister of Whispers?

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584985510296322048

[Filuwaúrdjan]

How many Ministers Without Portfolio is this?

[Torrain]

How many Ministers Without Portfolio is this?

At this rate, there'll be one for every Tory faction they have to keep on-side.

Maybe that's the point - just create as many defacto Whips as possible.

[afleitch]

How many Ministers Without Portfolio is this?

Everyone's a Minister. Only one backbencher; JRM.

[afleitch]

Daniel Kruger.

Minister for Baking.

(j/k)

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584990717931245569

[Blair]

Buckland pays the price

Added indignity of being replaced by a certifiable moron.

A sign of how shocked I was was that I assumed it was a typo and it was actually the English 72 year old David Davis who was being appointed to Welsh Sec.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584990717931245569

Mitchell (another former Chief Whip) led a successfull rebellion in favour of increased international development spending in 2021 - when party unity was a lot stronger.

This definitely feels like a "better to have him in the tent, p***ing out, rather than vice versa" hiring.

The only problem with that logic, is that Mitchell's whole 'thing' is making sure we hit the "0.7% of GDP spent on international aid" target. Going to be hard to keep him, Ben Wallace, and Jeremy Hunt all happy at the same time.

[Blair]

A good appointment- he was one of the biggest cheerleaders for DFID and has generally been quite good on foreign policy- Whitehall would do well if more people like him were willing to come back for lower profile jobs.

https://twitter.com/10downingstreet/status/1584990717931245569

[Blair]

Also this cabinet seems rather heavy on egos doesn’t it?

It’s going to a great time for hacks…

[Хahar 🤔]

Liz Truss is one of the few Prime Ministers that I genuinely believe was an empty-headed person lacking in brain cells. She wasn't robotic like Theresa May because of a mere social awkwardness but because there simply wasn't any extra level of thought beyond the pathetic soundbites.

Absolutely. It's been known for decades but she kept inexplicably being elevated.

The country is reeling from dubious Cameron era selection processes.

Even from America you could tell during the summer leadership campaign that she didn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed. It's unusual that she got this far because normally women in politics are held to a much higher standard than men and women who seem incompetent can't get anywhere. I don't understand how she kept moving up, but anyway the new Home Secretary is probably evidence that whatever Conservative Party processes led to Prime Minister Liz Truss have not been changed.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/JasonGroves1/status/1584994529538871297

"Oh, they totally offered me Foreign Secretary, but I was just so humble and turned it down."

[jojoju1998]

Liz Truss is one of the few Prime Ministers that I genuinely believe was an empty-headed person lacking in brain cells. She wasn't robotic like Theresa May because of a mere social awkwardness but because there simply wasn't any extra level of thought beyond the pathetic soundbites.

Absolutely. It's been known for decades but she kept inexplicably being elevated.

The country is reeling from dubious Cameron era selection processes.

She somehow graduated from Oxford with a degree in PPE.

Even from America you could tell during the summer leadership campaign that she didn't seem like the sharpest tool in the shed. It's unusual that she got this far because normally women in politics are held to a much higher standard than men and women who seem incompetent can't get anywhere. I don't understand how she kept moving up, but anyway the new Home Secretary is probably evidence that whatever Conservative Party processes led to Prime Minister Liz Truss have not been changed.

[Silent Hunter]

A lot of these picks may be designed to keep people in the tent, so to speak.

[Torrain]

Not sure how long Braverman lasts. While this storm will (probably) pass, I still struggle to see her lasting the full parliament. Patel could be inflammatory, but she also had an off-button. Braverman has been a fire-starter for so long (literally building her political brand around it). I think she's going to make Sunak the third PM in a row to live to regret appointing her (see her announcing a leadership campaign from within Johnson's cabinet, and crippling Truss' authority at the end of an already damaging day).

If you come into office, and even the Lib Dems have decent material pre-written (“Glad to see the Home Office now believes in the rehabilitation of offenders”), things aren't exactly off to a great start.