A lot of attention is being given on this recess Monday to a report from ex-diplomats urging the government to “modernise” the FCDO by “looking forward to 2040“. Apparently pursuing national interest is no longer a worthy goal…
Among complaints is that the Foreign Office building on King Charles Street “speaks of our past rather than our future” because it has old paintings in it and reminds guests of previous British achievements – “The UK has sought to project an image of ‘greatness’ to the world that today seems anachronistic”. Meanwhile,“former colonies are making increasingly vocal demands around the need for reparations from colonialism and compensation for the loss and damage arising from historical industrial emissions.” We must therefore reform the Foreign Office into a glorified woke UN aid department…
Report author Moazzam Malik, briefly Director-General for Africa and previously British Ambassador to Indonesia, seems to have had a grudge against his old employer for some time. He resigned as a Director-General after Liz Truss pivoted the FCDO towards responding to the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Malik complained in The Guardian that at the Foreign Office Dominic Raab had “a reputation for being extremely demanding” and that this “isn’t an isolated incident” because Liz Truss was “notorious for picking and choosing who she wanted to hear from.” Civil servants were in so much danger when it came to interacting with malicious Tory ministers that “many had to be moved to other duties to get them out of harm’s way“. God forbid a civil servant is instructed to do any work…
Justice Secretary Alex Chalk has just confirmed the inevitable: he’s scrapping Dominic Raab’s Bill of Rights. Responding to a question from Bob Neill in the Chamber, Chalk announced the government has binned the Bill just two months after Raab was forced to resign over accusations of tomato-lobbing. Chalk said:
“Having carefully considered the government’s legislative programme in the round, I can inform the House we have decided not to proceed with the Bill of Rights. But let me say that the government remains committed to a human rights framework which is up to date and fit for purpose and works for the British people. We have taken and are taking specific action to address specific issues with the Human Rights Act and the European Convention [on Human Rights]…”
The Bill was designed to reduce challenges to public authorities on dubious grounds and reducing retrospective court challenges that second guess bodies’ “professional judgement exercised under considerable pressure.” Now it’s in the shredder…
UPDATE: Labour are jumping all over this. Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed has released a statement:
“This is the third time the Government have u-turned on their Rights Reduction Act. The plans were a dangerous threat to peace in Northern Ireland, prevented us from deporting foreign terrorists and dented the rights of rape survivors. What’s astonishing is that a string of Tory prime ministers indulged this half-baked nonsense for so long. If you needed any more evidence that this clownish Conservative government is a directionless political circus, this is it.”
Labour attacking the Tories for U-turns…
Guido has some sympathy for Dominic Raab, he was brought down by a civil service insurrection over a load of nonsense because he was a demanding boss. He was let down by a weak Prime Minister who prefers to take the path of least resistance to defeat. The Prime Minister has so far not connected with the British people and the party he leads is consistently polling worse than it did under Boris. Rishi’s strategy has so far not reduced the double digit deficit at the polls, and the PM is even untrusted and unloved by much of the rank and file membership of his own party. Dominic Raab literally stood by Rishi Sunak when he was seeking to become party leader.
Given the lack of progress in the national polls, the forecast for his constituency was grim. You can’t blame Raab for thinking “sod it”…
Here we go again. Having finished off Dominic Raab, the Whitehall militia have found their next target. Now it’s Health Secretary Steve Barclay’s turn, with the charge sheet against him so appalling it’s almost impossible to read. For those brave enough, here is what Barclay is being accused of by distressed civil servants:
The botched attempt to take down Alok Sharma means mandarins are now having to up their game. Barclay doesn’t just call Civil Servants while they’re at home, he “blasts” them when they make mistakes, and is sometimes even “difficult” to work with – whatever that means. No one has accused him of hurling fruit past the skulls of his staff yet, although it’s surely only a matter of time. Barclay’s allies are calling the allegations “totally untrue” and “politically motivated“, pointing out that not one complaint has been made. James Cleverly added Barclay is “absolutely not” a bully on Sky News this morning. Not that any of that matters: it is clearly open season on any Cabinet minister now. One Civil Service source joked to Guido “if Civil Servants are snowflakes, the DHSC [Department of Health and Social Care] is Antarctica”…
Alex Chalk replaces Dominic Raab as Justice Secretary. James Cartlidge has been appointed to his former position as a Minister in the MoD, whilst Gareth Davies is made Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. Oliver Dowden has also taken up the role of Deputy Prime Minister. Chalk up.
The government has also outlined plans for appointments to cover the maternity leave of Michelle Donelan and Julia Lopez:
That’s all folks.
Dominic Raab’s Civil Service-secured resignation this morning leaves big shoes to fill in the Ministry of Justice. As a big name Rishi-backer, with evident willingness to take on the blob, Rishi will want to get Raab’s replacement right. Here are some of the front-runners in any mini Ri-shuffle…
Place your bets…
