John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown takes over

JR Sun May 06, 2007 at 12:53:27 PM GMT Print-friendly version Facebook

Shock news on the Politics Show as Reid announces he will stand down as Home Secretary and become a backbencher under a Brown government.



I'm really disappointed about this as Reid was one of my favourite Cabinet members.

Brown will be over the moon no doubt - it seems they'll hardly be any Blairites left in Cabinet anymore. Brown will get complete dominance in government - something he never let Blair have whilst he was PM.


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John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown takes over | 33 comments (33 topical)

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet (#1)

by jonesythered on Sun May 06, 2007 at 02:12:30 PM GMT

I don't know about everyone else, but I am literally choking behind a wall of tears


Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet (#11)

by grimupnorth on Sun May 06, 2007 at 06:29:11 PM GMT

Well, that has made  my day.Just  had to abandon weekend away cos of bad weather but,hey, the sun is  also setting on New Labour. Clarke   bottom of poll  last Sunday  now Reid has gone. A veritable  house of cards..... Yeay!!!!!!


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet (#2)

by Mikael on Sun May 06, 2007 at 03:06:29 PM GMT

JR are YOU resigning.... NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Note the sarcasm!


Re: John Reid will quit (#3)

by Loz on Sun May 06, 2007 at 03:27:21 PM GMT

I'm gutted about this. Reid for me was one of the strongest cabinet ministers the Blair government had.

No doubt he would be reign supreme in any Brown cabinet.

John Reid has been an excellent and loyal Labour minister, and I think had he given himself the chance, he would have seen the turn around at the home office that has not yet fully happened.

I'm very worried about the next Brown cabinet being full of yes men. The likes of Ed Balls, who for me is the biggest backstabber going and his like filling government greatly worries me.

I support Brown for the top job, but I would be  bitterly dissapointed if he didn't make the drastic changes we need.

I can't think of anybody in the current cabinet who could do this job. At a time when confidence in the HS is at its lowest in many years, we need another tough and hard hitting face to fill the gap. It's going to be difficult.

Anyone got any suggestions?


Re: John Reid will quit (#4)

by jkitleft on Sun May 06, 2007 at 03:41:21 PM GMT

As opposed to the current cabinet of disloyal minsters, again note the sarcasm


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#5)

by Mikael on Sun May 06, 2007 at 04:22:50 PM GMT

Usually, the Party right doesn't miss a single opportunity to point out - or "prove" - that the Party Left suffers from generalised infighting. Therefore, I will seize this golden opportunity to point out that, in addition to the "Milibandite" back-stabbing of Brown, this resignation on part of Reid (which illustrates his refusal to work with Brown, against whom he is too weak to stand in a leadership election) is nothing but yet another step in the direction of the complete auto-anihilation of the right-wing (and NuLab). The faster this process comes to its just conclusion (i.e. the extinction of the right - Brown included), the better for the Party! Bring it on!  


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#6)

by JR on Sun May 06, 2007 at 05:05:50 PM GMT

Pathetic as ever. Reid is showing great loyalty to the party by standing down and allowing Brown to bring fresh faces into the Cabinet.

It's disgusting that you take such joy in any downfall of your own party.


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#20)

by Mikael on Sun May 06, 2007 at 08:42:46 PM GMT

I am  not "enjoying" the "downfall" of our Party, I am simply satisfied by the (now) hasty, if long overdue, demise of its Right-wing, characterised by the infighting (between Blairites brpownites and a hypothetical new layer, as of this moment seemingly undecided, though clearly sterile,of uber-Blairite "Milibandites"), and frankly, self-destructive nature,of the Part Right. Sure, if you wish to provide "statesmanlike" proportions/characteristics to Reid's resignation (downfall????) and interpret it as such, be my guest - we both honestly know you're fooling yourself and, despite my words of wisdom, stubbornly insist on making flawed conclusions.

The only "breath of fresh air" that I can sense are represented by a swing to the Left on part of the Party. Finally, and this may sound like  a  "Macmillanite" comment, I can feel "winds of change blowing" within our Party and, the name they whisper is John McDonnell!


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#23)

by JR on Sun May 06, 2007 at 09:06:19 PM GMT

Ha! I'm not going to bother giving a proper reply. Let's just wait and see the results of the leadership race before we decide whether McDonnell is the 'wind of change' or there is a demise of the right.


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#26)

by Mikael on Sun May 06, 2007 at 09:17:55 PM GMT

"I'm not going to bother giving a proper reply."

You just don't have the political intellect/flair/arguments required in orderr to produce one!!!!

By the way, McDonnell would anihilate Clarke anytime any day... And I doubt that Boy David or Reid would fare any better than the latter if they were to face McDonnell, the only real "Supermac" (I am beginning to sound a bit too "Macmillanite" here!)


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#27)

by JR on Sun May 06, 2007 at 09:24:54 PM GMT

Can you post one thing without being insulting?


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Re: John Reid will quit (#28)

by Mikael on Sun May 06, 2007 at 09:29:14 PM GMT

Insulting??? Who??? Me??? No!!!

I can, however, withdraw my remark which claimed that you had no political intellect - but in this case you have clearly proven that you do not!!!


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Re: John Reid will quit (#32)

by JR on Mon May 07, 2007 at 07:19:42 PM GMT

Oh how witty.


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Re: John Reid will quit (#7)

by JR on Sun May 06, 2007 at 05:07:12 PM GMT

I agree Loz - Brown's going to be able to fill his Cabinet with 'yes' men and there won't be a Blairite in sight. At least nobody will be able to blame the Blairites if we lose the next general election.


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Re: John Reid will quit (#9)

by jkitleft on Sun May 06, 2007 at 05:21:46 PM GMT

Yeah, Blair's brought a balance of the party-of left and right- would you not say? Blair's cabinet may be Blairites and Brownites, but their all yes-men. Why? Because Blairites and Brownites are the same thing, their both New Labour, it's tribalism. So Brown may take an extreme form of tribalism, but it is not like Blair's cabinet is full of people who give him constructive criticism. And getting rid of Blairites won't bring our downfall. The left are often told that they are the faction of infighting, whereas it is really New Labour who do all the infighting. People wan't a clean break from Blairites, and if anyone think's that the left will bring our downfall, i ask you this. Do you think that people will alter their votes due to relations between John McDonnell and Michael Meacher, or Tony Blair and Gordon Brown?


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#12)

by EmilyLouisa on Sun May 06, 2007 at 06:41:26 PM GMT

You really enjoy oversimplifying don't you?

Blair's Cabinet all being 'yes men':

  • Robin Cook resigning over Iraq
  • Clare Short (eventually) resigning over Iraq

And I'm sure there have been numerous subtle disagreements in Cabinet, such as Alan Johnson apparently having to insist on no religious exemptions from gay rights legislation and John Prescott insisting on implementation of the Warwick Agreement, that prove your analysis faulty.


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Re: John Reid will quit (#13)

by jkitleft on Sun May 06, 2007 at 06:46:04 PM GMT

Fine. But it is not like the cabinet is a delicate balance of left and right anymore. And before people start saying they don't want McDonnellites in the Cabinet, I mean people like Cook, Chris Smith, Short, Mowlam etc. There has been a disenfranchisement of the left which now sees a New Labour faction controlling about 75-80% of the PLP


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Re: John Reid will quit (#16)

by EmilyLouisa on Sun May 06, 2007 at 07:07:57 PM GMT

Fair enough, I agree with you there. Let's hope there's a bit more diversity in a Brown Cabinet.


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#21)

by Mikael on Sun May 06, 2007 at 08:44:20 PM GMT

Though he did the right thing by stepping down over Iraq, I'm not sure I'd say that Cook represented the Left of the Party!


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit (#25)

by jkitleft on Sun May 06, 2007 at 09:07:36 PM GMT

maybe not, but he was of the more soft-left faction


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown (#8)

by EmilyLouisa on Sun May 06, 2007 at 05:20:33 PM GMT

I wouldn't read too much into the significance of this. Fine, either Reid has decided he can't face working with Brown or Brown has made it clear he'd be fired in an early Cabinet reshuffle, but it hardly represents significant infighting. Good on Reid for deciding to leave rather than egotistically challenging Brown for the leadership.

I don't think it's a matter of Brown wanting to fill the Cabinet entirely with his 'yes' men (after all, it's not as if he'll be getting rid of David Miliband despite the ultra-Blairite attempts to encourage him to run for the leadership). I think it's more about 'out with the old, in with the new'. Brown will want to distance his government effectively from the Blair administration, and it'll be hard to do that if Cabinet membership isn't drastically altered. Plus there'll be a need not to have too many Scots, och aye.

Shame on you factionalists wanting to promote discord in the new government before it's even formed. You suck!

Who are we going to see in the first Brown Cabinet? Darling for Chancellor? What will Jack Straw be rewarded with for being the campaign manager?

Apologies to McDonnell supporters. Please let us know who John McD would put in his Cabinet if he was to win the leadership contest. I'm guessing not Michael Meacher.


Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown (#14)

by Rhinoceros on Sun May 06, 2007 at 06:58:31 PM GMT

I would like to see Stephen Timms as chancellor- an experienced economist. Darling should Home secretary.

I think Brown should promote the independant minded ministers like Steve Ladyman and Parmjit Dhanda, as well as people like David Lammy, plus some of the talented young women like Joan Ryan, Emily Thornberry and Dawn Butler. It would also be nice to see someone like Stephen Hesford get some sort of job. Some other good ministers are Ben Bradshaw, Jim Murphy, Ed Miliband, Gareth Thomas and Barry Gardiner.

a bit of a london predominance though.


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown (#15)

by davidfloyd on Sun May 06, 2007 at 06:59:57 PM GMT

Straw will probably end up as Chancellor, I reckon.

Darling would be a risk because of the too many Scots - or people in Scottish seats - problem.

I'm interested to see whether there's going to be any soft-left figures in the new cabinet.

Jon Cruddas aside, John Denham is probably the most likely. Not sure who else.

Can see any of the hard left getting ministerial jobs although if Brown's been watching Diane Abbott's enthusiastic endorsements on TV, she might end up with responsibility for a paperclip or two.


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown (#17)

by EmilyLouisa on Sun May 06, 2007 at 07:12:46 PM GMT

"Darling should Home secretary"

But isn't Brown probably going to split the Home Office up? Not so much of a major portfolio anymore.

Would be good to see John Denham in there.

Who else will be losing places under Brown? Margaret Beckett? John Hutton? Tessa Jowell? I hope they go out gracefully.


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown (#18)

by Andrea on Sun May 06, 2007 at 07:33:31 PM GMT

"Who else will be losing places under Brown? Margaret Beckett? John Hutton? Tessa Jowell? I hope they go out gracefully."

Hilary Armstrong?


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown (#19)

by jonesythered on Sun May 06, 2007 at 08:01:22 PM GMT

My prediction is that Brown will be keen to avoiding giving the impression of shifting to the left and will, therefore, avoid granting positions even to the soft left.

He will probably give Denham a job - but I don't really think Denham is "soft left": he's a Blairite who happened to oppose the war, which is a different thing altogether. He's never actually rebelled on any other issue; other than that, his policy statements seem to be restricted to occasionally raising concerns about the level of immigration and calling for the introduction of prison chain gangs.

There will be no positions for the Ticketts and Burgons of this world in a Brown govenment.


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown (#22)

by jonesythered on Sun May 06, 2007 at 08:53:12 PM GMT

"Apologies to McDonnell supporters. Please let us know who John McD would put in his Cabinet if he was to win the leadership contest. I'm guessing not Michael Meacher."

I think Meacher would be a good Environment Secretary in a McDonnell government.

A McDonnell government would mark a return to 'broad church' Labour politics. You'd see the return of some old names (e.g. Dobson back at health); lots of jobs for the centre (such as Trickett and Cruddas); and even some for the right (I reckon that Benn and Harman would remain in Government, for example).

Jobs for the left would include Corbyn as Foreign Secretary and Neil Gerrard as Home Secretary, I reckon.


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Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown (#24)

by jkitleft on Sun May 06, 2007 at 09:06:39 PM GMT

I would hope Corbyn wouldn't become Foreign Secretary under McD. I don't like his position on the Tamil Tigers


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Re: John Reid will quit (#10)

by otware on Sun May 06, 2007 at 06:25:32 PM GMT

Woooooo. 2 birds with one stone! Blair and Reid. Thank God!


Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet (#29)

by jkitleft on Sun May 06, 2007 at 09:51:33 PM GMT

actually to get back to the point, I respect John Reid, I think he is also genuinally respected by many members, especially as Health Secretary when he won the vote on Foundation Hospitals for the Government, almost single-handidly. I was against Foundation hospitals, but Reid's arguments for them were very good.


Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet (#30)

by doctordunc on Mon May 07, 2007 at 06:15:04 PM GMT

I must have missed them then.  I've never heard a good argument for foundation hospitals.


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Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet (#31)

by jonesythered on Mon May 07, 2007 at 06:54:21 PM GMT

John Reid's former comrade George Galloway once said that his erstwhile colleague was very good at making left-wing arguments for right-wing policies - maybe he had a point!


[ Parent ]

Re: John Reid will quit Cabinet (#33)

by jkitleft on Mon May 07, 2007 at 08:09:21 PM GMT

exactly


[ Parent ]

John Reid will quit Cabinet when Brown takes over | 33 comments (33 topical)