- We are NOT devo! - 7th August 2020
- Left hand drive - 3rd July 2020
- Incoming - 13th June 2020
Our political columnist The Rebel looks at how the lockdown to combat the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) has shone a light on how the weakest and strongest members of the UK Government are performing.
The characters of political leaders have been under scrutiny from the media as never before, and the anti-Semitic controversy which has engulfed the opposition Labour party at Westminster has been a major factor in the recent leadership race, but now there is mounting concern about how the Conservatives are addressing what is happening.
It is clear the current crisis has revealed who are the weak members of Bojo’s cabinet.
They are: Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, Alok Sharma, the Business Secretary, and Priti Patel, the Home Secretary.
They are there largely because of their faithfulness to the Brexit cause or are wily political operators – but they haven’t performed well in their jobs.
It may even be that some who might be seen as more in the middle ground of the Tory party are on the rise.
It had been thought that the Health Secretary Matt Hancock was in trouble, particularly over his unwise announcement of a 100,000 testing target.
Yet now that target has been hit (although there are doubts about the methods used) and his star is in the ascendancy.
Of the group there are whispers about, Mr Sharma has already come under attack from Conservative MPs on the House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee for being “tentative and unclear” about how the UK gets back to work once the coronavirus pandemic recedes, and that businesses as well as workers were “falling between the cracks” of the UK Government’s support schemes.
Mr Sharma, who is 52 and the former international trade minister, has been thrown into the forefront of the UK Government’s response to the crisis after his elevation to Business Secretary in February.
During a tumultuous select committee hearing, Richard Fuller, MP for North East Bedfordshire, told Mr Sharma: “Your answers to questions about the reopening of the economy – those answers will be heard by many with a lot of frustration. They were tentative as to what measures might be taken, and unclear.
He added: “The government made that call on the entire economy to shut it down… without having (done work on) the countervailing economic costs that would ensue.
“What many businesses are looking for from you – because you are going to own a lot of the pressure in the recovery as it moves from the medical to business – what they need is a sense of hope from you that the plans are in place and they need specifics on those plans.
“People need a sense of hope and the expectations of what they need to do for the future.”
Nus Ghani, the MP for Wealden, warned Mr Sharma: “Many businesses feel they are on the verge of bankruptcy, especially if they lose the summer (trading).
“What support is there to get those businesses up and running and who are making these decisions? The business department, cabinet, the Treasury?”.
Mr Williamson, meanwhile, had helped broker the deal that kept the Maybot in power, and was seen by her as the son she never had.
But that may not be enough to save him with Boris in charge.
He is not viewed as having done well over how and when to re-open schools.
His colleague, Ms Patel, has received a lot of media attention for the alleged ‘bullying’ of her staff, and in the past she has been saved from the knife because Bojo didn’t want to be seen as wielding it on the only Ugandan-Indian woman in his cabinet.
But again this might not be enough to save her in any future reshuffle.
The Cabinet Office was asked to establish the facts following the claims that she had bullied staff at three different government departments, and the opposition Labour party has made political capital out of it all by saying the findings should be made public.
Perhaps the crisis might help Boris in getting rid of them – if that’s the case he might see the lockdown cloud as having a silver lining!
Our Editor Phil Parry’s memories of his extraordinary 36-year, award-winning career in journalism as he was gripped by the incurable disabling condition Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order the book now!
If you need something to keep the children entertained during these uncertain times (in Welsh) try Ffwlbart Ffred about the amusing stories of Ffred and his pet.