Downing Street has admitted Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman will not attend Cabinet in their unpaid, potemkin roles as ‘Special Envoy on Global Finance and Cooperation’ and Adviser on Women and Girls’ respectively. As was obvious the moment these positions were announced, they exist purely as a firefighting exercise. A bit like bringing a water pistol to a forest fire…
Asked specifically what Brown would be doing, the spokesman told the Lobby hacks:
“…Obviously the global finances are very sharply in focus because of the conflict… there’s nobody better qualified in international financial arrangements and multinational arrangements to make our economy stronger… Gordon Brown is uniquely qualified for this role… he will now focus on international finance partnerships to support defence, security, and the economy.”
You’d think the incumbent Chancellor would be uniquely qualified to do those things. She apparently is too busy rowing with her sister at children’s birthday parties…
Starmer loyalist and Housing Secretary Steve Reed told Sky News that Starmer should not be replaced:
“We saw what the Tories did. They were in power for 14 years, and after 2016, I think we had nine education secretaries, seven chancellors, and five Prime Ministers. Doomscrolling through Prime Ministers doesn’t resolve the problem.”