A bit ironic, given the timing, but the Spectator blog, Coffee House has this:
Cameron should fix the shadow cabinet while the sun is shining. Tucked away in the Whip column of The Sun is this item:
“Now senior Tories are aghast at rumours that David Cameron was rubbishing them during a private dinner recently. He is said to have told a pal: “I’ve got six or seven people in the Shadow Cabinet capable of working in the government. The rest are useless.”
You can read more here.



9 Comments
Seems everyone’s at it.
Oh dear. Clegg and Cameron mirroring each other again…
Come on Brown, your turn now!
Problem is – it’s true of all the parties.
It’s true of Labour because most of the good MPs have been sacked for disagreeing with Blair/Brown, or disloyalty to NuLab, or for scandal; and the rest have “gone native”.
It’s true of Conservative because most of the MPs are now second-rate never-had-a-real-job politico types like Cameron and Osborne (but not as good).
It’s true of the Lib Dems because they dont have a wide enough pool to draw from (yet).
One of the reasons why it’s true of all the parties is because they’re trying to do a professional job with no proper training, standards, or performance evaluation. Cabinet is the last refuge of the gentleman (and woman) amateur!
Should we compile a list of the people who are not up to their jobs?
My top three:
Jacqui Smith, George Osborne, Ed Balls.
Who can infiltrate that rogues gallery?
@ Jennie, better Cameron mirroring Clegg than t’other way round!
Have you seen the House of Lords Tories who’d be expected to represent any Cameron Government ? I’d try to get on the first shuttle to Mars !!
How many politicians would be of the same calibre as the editor of a national newspaper, a senior partner in an international law or accountancy firm, an executive board member of a FTSE company or a senior civil servant?
Very few match up to those benchmarks. Most would rank alongside a Deputy Reginal Director of Human Resources for a chain of High Street Chemists.
Unlike “proper careers” advancement is often on the basis of good fortune rather than ability, which means that competent people are dissuaded from adopting it as a career and poor performaers can often advance beyond their abilities.