Lord who?

When Dave was doing his soft-shoe reshuffle it was assumed by the pundits that perhaps one of rejects would be shunted off to the European Commission, or at least he would appoint a big-hitter at this  crucial time, when he has to start getting his act together for the Referendum; someone who would put a bit of stick about in Brussels, maybe a Eurosceptic bruiser who, as an added bonus, would make Juncker’s life a misery.

 

Experienced old-timers such as Malcolm Rifkind were trailed, along with Michael Howard and Andrew Lansley plus the usual bag of political has-beens.

 

So we have Lord Hill.

 

Lord who?

 

What do we know about him. Nothing because there is nothing to know. He is not even a nonentity.  Even Wiki struggles to make more than a couple of paragraphs. His CV is a tribute to brevity.

 

Digging around (in a very shallow hole) it can be revealed that his previous is a mixture of PR and Tory Central Office. He was Michael Gove’s understrapper before becoming Leader of the Lords.

 

That’s it.

 

Four years ago he was given a peerage. What exceptional service he rendered to the nation to have deserved such high elevation is unbeknownst.

 

If this appointment is Dave’s subtle way of showing his disdain for Brussels, that would be possibly forgivable, After all, Brown did the same in the person of Lady Ashton. The much simpler reason is that he wished to avoid a potentially embarrassing by-election, one which amongst other worries would have given another platform for UKIP when a General Election would be appearing over the horizon.

 

It sets the whole tone of the reshuffle. Has it improved the effectiveness and efficiency of British governance? It was all about image at a time when Britain’s real need is the smack of firm government

 

Michael Gove, the best modern Education Minister, was removed because he was beastly to the NUT. Had he not been so, that would have been a proper reason to get rid of him. The excellent Dominic Grieve took an early bath for putting justice above the party line. Hague just got tired of politics, True, Ken Clarke was well-past his ‘use by’ date, but the changes generally are to fit Dave’s ‘Mr Nicey’ image that he will now cultivate up to the election.

 

Promoting a  gaggle of women was aimed at the ‘image’ factor. We once had Blair’s babes. Now we have Cameron’s crumpet.