He may want to paint himself as Judgment Day, but he was really just Genisys and now we about to get Dark Fate...
Appears competent, which given the competition is a low bar. Given his opponent couldn't find her way out of a room with one door, that she was stood next to. And the rest is just a continuation of the austerity of his predecessors. The beatings will continue until morale and productivity improves [or the tories are turfed out... maybe] Problem is, by voting for truss they're voting for the least popular [with voters] candidate. Meet the new boss, same as the old one. Tweet— Twitter API (@user) date
Coffey as Home sec? Cleverly as Foreign sec? Did the current Cabinet bribe Liz with 10kg of cocaine to make them look competent by comparison?
"somewhat competent" - as in not obviously a buffon after 30s of listening to them talk. Now his track record is a different matter! I'm not sure I can think of any "popular" MP who I would consider competent to run the country - 'career' politicians really are ruining the country. We would benefit from having more people who have been there and done that in charge of their respective departments. Shocking I know but call me a radical for thinking an MP in charge of, lets say schools, may have actually worked in education at some point.
JRM is currently at Wrexham FC, with the local MP & the Secretary of State for Wales. I think he's looking for Hugh Jackman.
I've opined on this topic before, and I'll only do so briefly again 'cos I'm supposed to be working, but you don't actually want that. The Health Secretary, for instance, shouldn't actually be making decisions on healthcare - just as the secretary to, I dunno, Tim Apple shouldn't be making decisions on the next iPhone. Clue's in the name. What they should be doing is listening to their department then politicking the answer. The politicians should be very experienced at doing that, and then departments should be staffed with the people who have the knowledge. That's how democracy's supposed to work. Sadly, we don't have that. We have politicians who are very experienced at lining their pockets and making whatever decision will put their name in the paper in the best light. They either ignore their staff altogether or sack 'em and fill the positions with yes-men. We don't need subject-matter expert politicians; we need honest ones.
There are roles where even a passing familiarity of their field might actually be helpful... Like Attorney General... But instead we have Suella Braverman who thinks being called to the bar means buying a round.
They ain't a Secretary of State, tho' - they have an actual job. In this case, attorney - which also means having qualifications beyond "went to Oxbridge and/or attended the right coke-fuelled orgies."
Why not both experience and honesty? Yes, I know its impossible to imagine when some appointments feel like outright malicious acts of destruction (like Zahawi the expenses fiddler being chancellor instead of spending years in a prison cell).
Because a really good and experienced teacher/nurse/police officer/soldier/whatever is unlikely to also have had the time to become a really good and experienced politician. You want the best politicians you can get, which is a skill theoretically transferable between departments. A good Education Secretary should also make a good Health Secretary and so on and so forth. 'course, to prove that point you'd have to find a good Education Secretary, and... <points at Conservative Party> EDIT: Also, you're back to the politician making decisions off their own back again - which ain't what they're supposed to be doing. A doctor makes a bad call 'cos they think they know best? A patient dies. The same doctor as Health Secretary makes a bad call 'cos they think they know best? Thousands could die. The politician should be serving as the focal point for the experience of an entire department, not their own personal experience and opinions (and those of... let's say "lobbyists," shall we?) 'cos that's where we are now, and look how well that's going(!)
I would argue that having first hand experience makes you much better at listening to the opinions of the experienced team and being able to smell the BS, prioritise the urgent issues and deprioritise less significant issues. I work in the world of engineering/science and the best managers are those who worked up (and have good mgmt skills) versus the random accountants or MBA business bods who simply couldn't wrap their heads about the business they are running.
It's a fair point, but experience doesn't always mean you're good at playing politics. Look at me, I've been doing what I do for years now and I still get in trouble for saying the wrong thing (or, worse, the right thing in the wrong way) sometimes... EDIT: In other news: Tweet— Twitter API (@user) date Remember, if you cross a picket line you're a scab. No exceptions. Don't be a scab. Don't cross the picket. Especially when a Tory's telling you to.
And not too long ago they feigned horror at how the P&O staff were treated. Now it's Tory modus operandi for business. Not sure how they're going to get enough skilled temporary staff for just about every job in the country, the employment agencies aren't happy about it at all.
This! Admittedly, as a former coal miner, I could possibly be considered a tad biased on scabs and tories.
