Goats and Tsars  

An excellent report out today from the prolific Public Administration Select Committee on which I serve. “Goats and Tsars” looks at the increasing practice of bringing people in to Ministerial jobs from outside Parliament. This is often justified on the grounds that the Westminster gene pool is simply too shallow. The Prime Minister needs to go further afield to create a Government of all the talents. That is complete baloney. The Parliamentary Labour Party is a galaxy of talent. Our inquiry did, indeed, identify some shining stars amongst the newly created Ministerial Lords but there are some dense black holes out there too. One example. I asked the former Cabinet Secretary, Andrew Turnbull, if “Lord” motor mouth Digby Jones was a success or a failure. Turnbull replied without missing a beat: “He was a caricature.” Get the report (HC 330) on www.parliament.uk/pasc...