h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6629877.stm

Okay, didn't see this one coming: John Reid to quit as home Secretary when Tony Blair leaves office.

As calls continue to come in for an inquiry into the bombings in London; as the Home Office itself is supposed to be split in two; is now* really the time to just up and leave?

What on earth is going on in The Home Office?



*assuming Blair is to announce his resignation imminently.

Reid's another Scot - I think he's seeing the any post in a Brown Cabinet as a poisoned chalice.

Better to stand outside and run for leader after the next election, and hope to be the man to bring Labour back into power.

Please, not Hazel Blears. Please, no, no, no

She's my MP... I'd like to apologise to everyone now.

I'm with you there SWL

A woman with a one track mind coupled to a one track mouth.....

Novo

I'm surprised nobody has titled this Government the AFJ administration. Another Jock. Every time there is an anoouncement or a spokesperson it's AFJ. At least Dr Demento departing to Celtic gives the Son of the Manse an opportunity to slip in an English speaker.

WA, how ignorant are you? That's a pathetic piece of worthless shit you just posted.

We've had plenty of cabinets full of the English (and those like Tony Blair who do their best to hide all trace of their origin) but put a few obvious Scots or Welshmen in government and suddenly its a major issue
Yes, Labour will only be able to govern because of Scottish and Welsh MPs and they will pass laws that only apply to England. Same thing happened in the Thatcher era when English Tory MPs were used to vote through measures that applied only to Scotland like the original Poll Tax. Don't remember any Tories or the Daily Mail objecting to that

Jack Straw, David Blunkett, Charles Clarke...

Starter for ten? Reid's only been there a year

Prediction I've seen is Straw back at the Home Office, Darling at the Treasury and Benn (son not father ) at the Foriegn Office

I do wonder if anyone in the government realises how hated Blears is. If she became deputy PM I think I would vote Tory out of spite. The sheer contempt she has shown when not answering questions in interviews goes beyond the pale...breathe Alf, breathe...go to happy place...haaaapppppyyy plllaaaccce.

She is even worse that Patronising Hewitt and that's saying something.

Don't whether Brown would risk having Nazi Straw in the Home Office. He needs some chance of winning the next election!

David Blunkett has been all over the media like a rash these last few days. Any takers?

"I do wonder if anyone in the government realises how hated Blears is."

That's strange. She's remained fairly popular with her constituents. I guess that doesn't really count though.

Two things:

Is your area a safe Labour seat?

Does she kiss ass when in the area?

She only needs you lot to vote her in.

Oh how foolish we are. Falling for her arse kissing. It's a pity we're too thick to see all the myriad reasons for hating her. The fact she's been fairly good for Salford is no reason to keep voting for her!

I never said you were thick...you seemed to infer that.

I spent a year in Salford and I can tell you there's a lot of thick people there...you said it not me...as you are on h2g2 I can see you are not one of them.

Said thick people like to send me death threats due to my EG Entry on Swinton. Which is always nice...

Good entry on Swinton...especially the Shopping Centre where SoRB and myself bought some laser tags guns and were stopped by the CID 20minutes later having been looking at them on the walk back to Uni Halls and someone mistaking them for real guns. Luckily, it 1989 and they hadn't got the armed response unit back in those days!

You know what, when I started this forum, I hadn't realised that the Home Office split was already upon us.

I have glimpsed but not read newspaper inches that have been alive with speculation about what for instance splitting the (new and shiny) Ministry of Justice off from the new (slimmer) Home Office will achieve, when the Home Secretary's remit is to tackle crime (which is apparently disproportionally carried out by re-offending ex-prisoners), who now fall under the remit of Charlie Falkner....and other problematic scenarios.

I'm still just a bit surprised that

a)The Home Office split happened so fast (wasn't it only proposed, like, last month? )

b) Reid is going* just when this is taking effect - leaving whichever poor mug accepts the post next, to cope with the aftermath of what I estimate to be the most rapid and fundamental change in the functionings of Government since probably Dear-Leader-in-Waiting divested himself of the power to control interest rates.

Something tells me, whatever the merits of the idea, that this is a change that has not been thought through fully (Heavens, no! Really?) and will shortly be rudderless.

How encouraging.


*repeating the above assumption that Dear leader is indeed about to take the short walk off the long pier.