Cabinet Government: England v. U.S.

England's Prime Minister, the "Clintonesque" Tony Blair, is under tremendous pressure from his Labor Party backers to name that date when he will step down from his posts as party leader (since 1994) and Prime Minister which he has held since 1997. This is an interesting article from the Guardian that gives a cursory survey of the state of the Labor government today and the problems still facing Blair.

There are many things for which he can be given credit, not mentioned in this article, but surely Blair doesn't want to go out leaving his successor, whether Labor or Conservative, a mess to deal with.

The most interesting aspect of the article is the rundown of the names of the various cabinet ministers and the problems facing them. It appears that they are really important to the running of their departments and some are doing a much better job than others.

I would defy most Americans to name more than three or four American cabinet Secretaries in George Bush's "cabinet." Offhand, I can come up with only Rumsfeld and Rice. Back when "I really cared", and in days when it probably mattered more who they were, I used to be able to name them all.

I would wager that Bush hasn't had more than three "cabinet meetings" in six years and those were probably photo opportunities. All power seems to be located in the White House and most of the cabinet Secretaries are just message deliverers to the permanent staff of their department.

And this is in a government maybe 20 times bigger than England's and 100 times more important.




PM left with little room to manoeuvre
Patrick Wintour
Monday May 1, 2006

Guardian

As Tony Blair considers what is likely to be his last reshuffle, he finds himself in the curious position of having limited room for manoeuvre, with many more candidates for demotion than promotion. Yet this is a reshuffle that will reveal whether Mr Blair has either the agenda or the political authority to justify staying in office for more than another year.

Mr Blair's decisions are in the short term dependent on the fate of the home secretary, Charles Clarke, and his deputy, John Prescott. Mr Blair is reluctant to lose either man, but if one or other were to fall on his sword, it would give him more options. So would a restructuring of the government machinery, possibly by breaking up the Home Office.

Shuffling the pack of existing middle-ranking cabinet posts is hardly likely to refresh or inject competence into a government that badly needs to do the once simple task of good administration again. Labour backbenchers are openly calling for the long-delayed reshuffle to follow the local elections, and to be widespread.

In the past three months, no fewer than seven of Mr Blair's cabinet ministers have been in the political doghouse. Mr Clarke is famously in the mire. There is also John Prescott's admission of an affair, and Patricia Hewitt is in danger of losing the support of NHS staff as she pushes through reforms that will expose troubling financial deficits in NHS trusts at a time of record investment.

The education secretary, Ruth Kelly, has looked more confident recently, but has been criticised for allowing sex offenders into Britain's schools and for failing initially to sell the education bill to her own backbenchers. The party chairman, Ian McCartney, has been attacked for not being abreast of the party's finances in the cash for peerages row. The culture secretary, Tessa Jowell, has separated from her husband, David Mills, following allegations about his business relationship with Silvio Berlusconi, and the chief whip, Hilary Armstrong, was accused of mislaying a large government majority in the Commons. Even the industry secretary, Alan Johnson, is accused of blotting an impressive copybook by mishandling pension negotiations with public-sector workers. To cap it all, the long-serving and normally impressive environment secretary, Margaret Beckett, has a farmers' revolt on her hands due to messing up the new system of rural payments.

The best ministers these days seem to be those who court little publicity, such as the defiantly uncharismatic transport secretary. Alistair Darling, the steady leader of the Commons, Geoff Hoon, or the bright but currently low-profile Europe minister Douglas Alexander. One backbencher claimed the Cabinet Office was proving to be the best-run department - it has not had a cabinet minister for four months.

Many of the other ministers not in trouble have portfolios that require them not to move. David Miliband is currently writing the local government white paper, but may be needed in extremis elsewhere. The work and pension secretary, John Hutton, is in the middle of fraught and detailed talks with the Treasury over the future of pension reform following the recommendations of the Turner commission. If he is to be shifted, possibly back to health where he served for many years as an admired minister, only Mr Johnson, a previous work and pensions secretary, or Mr Hutton's current deputy responsible for pensions, Stephen Timms, would be credible replacements. The Department for Work and Pensions has been through five cabinet ministers in five years, and all in a sphere requiring long-term planning. The only other possible replacements include Ms Hewitt, who understands the technical details of pensions and would impress the pensions industry. Ruth Kelly also knows pensions from her time at the Treasury. But Mr Hutton is also responsible for an important bill on incapacity benefit, an area he has handled well so far by forestalling a potential backbench rebellion.

Equally, Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland secretary, has shown competence but is in the middle of make-or-break talks to restore power sharing to the province. John Reid, the firefighting defence secretary, has Afghanistan and Iraq on his plate.

The cabinet minister most likely to be promoted is Hilary Benn, the international development secretary, a man who exudes much-needed moral authority. He has avoided the great Brown-Blair battles, and impressed both camps by his commitment to Africa. Outside the cabinet, there will be a shakeup at health, promotion to cabinet for Hazel Blears, possibly as party chairman, and possibly a step up for the schools minister, Jacqui Smith, and cabinet office minister Jim Murphy. New or further ministerial postings look likely for others of the best and brightest such as Ed Balls, John Healey, David Cairns and Ed Miliband.

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