14 Comments

• Nigel 1st Jun '12 - 1:18pm

  It is interesting that Louise Mensch was able to state confidently on radio this morning that there would be a large majority in favour of Jeremy Hunt when the matter is raised in the Commons next week. Have Lib Dem votes for Hunt already been agreed?

• jason 1st Jun '12 - 1:30pm

  According to the Guardian,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, “The Liberal Democrats said it was “a matter for the prime minister alone to decide how to handle issues of discipline concerning Conservative ministers”………

  So no moral stand expected.

• Tim13 1st Jun '12 - 2:05pm

  So… another cave-in. All the words and heat generated by many of us members of the party over this – even Nick Clegg has (almost) spoken out over it! Then in the final analysis, not even a whimper. I hope I am being premature.

• Robin 1st Jun '12 - 2:15pm

  So, it appears your MPs will tie themselves to Hunt. I’m not sure they have thought this through ….

• toryboysnevergrowup 1st Jun '12 - 2:46pm

  Jason if you are right – might I suggest Howard as the next leader of the Liberal Democrats as he appears to be the only who is demonstrating some leadership qualities and is in touch with what nearly everyone else is thinking. Oh the irony of Vince votes with the Tories on this!

• g 1st Jun '12 - 3:13pm

  I do hope that Lib Dems will vote with their conscience on this matter. Every single newspaper, with the exception of the Murdoch ones, has with demanded Hunt resign, or expressed considerably doubt about his honest and integrity, I doubt you’d cop much public anger for voting with Labour, but should you do the opposite…

• Keith Browning 1st Jun '12 - 5:02pm

  If the LibDems in parliament let this one go and JH (whoever he is) survives because of them then this would be a defining moment for me.

  I watched the whole show live and I can’t imagine how anyone could believe a word of what was uttered yesterday – clearly JH rehearsed for weeks with a script written by spin doctors and then delivered like a first round drop out on a TV talent show.

  This is not a Coalition matter but one where honesty and decency should be paramount.

• Simon Bamonte 1st Jun '12 - 5:09pm

  I remember during the dog days of the Major government how strongly outspoken our party was on the massive Tory sleaze and corruption that blighted our Parliament. I was proud to be a Lib Dem then.

  Now it looks like, since we’re in coalition with the Tories, our MPs are at best prepared to keep quiet and let the Tories continue their sleaze (it’s what Tories do after all) and at worst actually vote to support corrupt members of the Tory Party.

  How far we’ve fallen, etc. And, sadly, not surprising these days.

• Rebecca Hanson 1st Jun '12 - 5:58pm

  I don’t know why you lot are all gunning for Hunt.

  Michael Gove has freely admitted where the energy for his ludicrous policies was coming from at a time when
  - the most ignorant policies in education ever were being passed
  - the key consultative networks in education who would have scrutinised Newscorps proposals were shut down
  - all other consultative networks were systematically ignored and those participating in them were spun as being ignorant socialist ideologues
  - all academics of education were being systematically discredited through the press
  - Ofsted was being set free to use it’s ‘special exemption for state schools’ from the laws and standards all other regulators are obliged to bully and denigrate schools into being forced to accept deeply ignorant policy.
  http://www.levesoninquiry.org.uk/hearing/2012-05-22pm/

  Or is that just fine to the Lib Dems because they believed what they heard in the press / have completely given up on the education vote?

• Stuart Mitchell 1st Jun '12 - 6:23pm

  “I don’t know why you lot are all gunning for Hunt.”

  I’m inclined to agree to a point. If Hunt was an unsuitable person to oversee the News Corp bid, then the blame for that lies squarely with Cameron, who was fully aware of Hunt’s sympathies when he gave him the job.

• Robin 1st Jun '12 - 6:51pm

  As a Labour member I’m a bit open mouthed with surprise at what appears to be a free gift headed our direction. If the Commons was to vote on sack/don’t sack I can see the logic of saying the matter is for Cameron alone (just …..) but as the vote will be to refer the matter for an independent opinion, what is the problem ? If he’s innocent then surely he’ll welcome the opportunity to clear his name.

  However …….

• jason 1st Jun '12 - 8:31pm

  Rebecca Hanson1st Jun ’12 – 5:58pm……………………………I don’t know why you lot are all gunning for Hunt………………………………..

  Perhaps because this thread starts with a cartoon about him?

• Tony Dawson 2nd Jun '12 - 11:57am

  A schoolkid’s guide to quasi-judicial decision-making, UK-style, 2012.

  Take two biased senior Cabinet members vying with each other to be closer to the Murdoch empire than even Tony Bliar was.

  Appoint an overgrown schoolkid Cabinet member to be in charge of the decision.

  Use a young ‘enthusaistic’ (sic) ‘special adviser’ as a conduit to create “plausible deniability” and an excuse to not have to resign if caught with trousers down.

  Simples.

• jason 3rd Jun '12 - 4:26pm

  When I ran contracts it was normal for ‘shop’ to be talked at coffee, lunch as well as ‘normal’ sessions.

  It seems, from Hunt’s evidence, that he knew nothing about his PA’s activities,; this in a relationship that threw them together all the time.

  I can only assume that meetings consited of…
  JH…”How’s it going?”
  PA…Fine”.
  JH…”Great! Can I have the last ‘chocky’ buiscuit?”