Justine Greening
What’s wrong with foreign aid?
Justine Greening is a robust politician and bean counter who reportedly used extremely fruity language when told she was being reshuffled to the International Development Department. Even though the new… Continue reading
27 Comments
What else could go wrong for the Tories?
Beyond being implicated in the Jimmy Savile scandal it’s hard to imagine how last week could have been worse for the Tories. The build up to their conference in Birmingham… Continue reading
8 Comments
Justine Greening is a reluctant contestant on Mitchell’s Millions
The reshuffle allowed David Cameron to place what many ministers (and sacked ministers in particular) are calling ‘Osborne’s spies’ in each government department to help the Chancellor rein in spending.… Continue reading
30 Comments Justine Greening may not play the game of Mitchell’s Millions
Sending an ex-accountant to run the International Development department was always a bit of a risk, given that its remit – to spend as much as it can – inverts… Continue reading
33 Comments
Morning of the Blunt Knives - Spectator Blogs
Provided you remember a few simple rules the Expectations Game should be the easiest test to pass in politics. It is not complicated: under-promise and over-deliver. Or, more succinctly, never… Continue reading
1 Comment
Morale, communication and party discipline are key to David Cameron’s first reshuffle
Iain Duncan Smith’s decision to stay at DWP means that the reshuffle is not quite as radical as some in Downing Street were hoping it would be. But it still… Continue reading
9 Comments
Of mice and men: the options for airport expansion
Hugh Robertson was trying to stick up for the Prime Minister this afternoon when he said David Cameron was ‘absolutely a man’. He was defending the government’s decision to stay… Continue reading
51 Comments
Downing Street rejects Yeo’s ‘man or mouse’ threat
Justine Greening will be relieved: Downing Street has just poured cold water on suggestions the government could U-turn on a third runway at Heathrow. At the morning lobby briefing, a… Continue reading
15 Comments
Justine Greening’s impossible job
It was difficult not to feel sorry for Transport Secretary Justine Greening this morning as she twisted and turned to avoid questions fired at her by Jim Naughtie on a… Continue reading
43 Comments
Railing against government policy
The cabinet is out and about today, trying to smooth feathers ruffled by last week’s Lords reform row by splashing out on £9 billion worth of investment for railways. Today’s… Continue reading
0 Comments
Railing against government policy
The cabinet is out and about today, trying to smooth feathers ruffled by last week’s Lords reform row by splashing out on £9 billion worth of investment for railways. Today’s… Continue reading
10 Comments
Fuel for a duel
Dear commuter, how’s your journey panning out after you were woken by the sound of Ed Balls politicking about fuel duty? The shadow chancellor was a ubiquitous presence on the… Continue reading
31 Comments
Tory minister: HS2 is ‘effectively dead’
Why was David Cameron so lukewarm in his endorsement of HS2 at PMQs today? (In response to a question about the project’s future, he offered, ‘I believe we should go ahead… Continue reading
109 CommentsWalking beyond parody
As the Times’s Sam Coates suggests, this official Department of Transport video lands right in the middle of The Thick of It territory. Remoding (1:00 in), anyone?
28 Comments
Cameron needs a proper party chairman
Normally, when a Tory government is in trouble, the party chairman is sent out to put themselves between the bad story and the Prime Minister. But Baroness Warsi and Lord… Continue reading
20 CommentsA slight change of heart on HS2?
There’s been an intriguing, if minor, development in the HS2 case this afternoon. The Guardian reports that the Department of Transport has miraculously found £500 million to spend on 1.5 miles… Continue reading
21 CommentsThe government’s airport conundrum
There is a growing acceptance in government that the South East needs more airport capacity. But, as today’s Times outlines, there’s nowhere near agreement on how best to achieve this.… Continue reading
32 CommentsHow will Greening deal with the airports issue?
One Cabinet minister fretted to me yesterday about the implications of Justine Greening’s appointment as Secretary of State for Transport. Their worry was not Greening’s position on the Tory ideological… Continue reading
9 CommentsCameron’s party management problems
Parliamentary party management is, perhaps, the subtlest of the political arts. It is, obviously, particularly difficult in coalition. But the Cameroons are still scoring a ‘must do better’ grade on… Continue reading
14 CommentsGreening’s rapid promotion
David Cameron has sent the Cabinet’s safest pair of hands to the Ministry of Defence. Philip Hammond, a robust Euro-sceptic with a belief in firm fiscal management, will bring calm… Continue reading
21 Comments