Maggie Throup is finally on the lookout for a much-needed Communications Officer. Having spent most of the last 4 months virtually invisible – other than a botched showing on Question Time – the Vaccines Minister is now looking to up her game by hiring someone who’s actually happy to “undertake media and press activities”, and “manage social media channels”. A role which would’ve been useful during the peak of the booster campaign in December, when Throup herself vanished from the airwaves…
To be fair to Throup, she’s been more active on Twitter in the last few weeks, although the new hire will still have their work cut out: Throup’s own website lists her as a Government Whip rather than Vaccine chief, and her Instagram bio still reads “Prospective Member of Parliament for Erewash“. Applications close on 6th February…
Over 100 days on the job and vaccines minister Maggie Throup finally made her first media round appearance this morning to discuss the booster rollout. Having last appeared on national television on 2nd December for a botched Question Time showing – where the audience laughed at her for insisting “all guidance was perfectly followed” over Downing Street’s lockdown drinks – Guido was beginning to wonder if she’d gone into winter hibernation. Asked by LBC’s Nick Ferrari why she was practically invisible compared to her predecessor Nadhim Zahawi, Throup insisted she’d “done lots of media interviews”:
“I’ve been very busy, I’ve done lots of different media…I’ve been on LBC before, I was on one Sunday, I’ve done lots of media interviews, so it’s always good to be on. And you know, it’s such a great day to be on, with this anniversary of the AstraZeneca [rollout]…”
Throup also appeared on Sky News this morning, where she confessed she couldn’t give a figure for how many hospitals are declaring critical incidents because “it is fast-moving [and] it would be wrong of me to say a number”. So much for looking at the data ‘hour by hour’ then.
The booster rollout has dominated the past week. In the last 24 hours, we’ve had a Sunday morning media round by Nadhim Zahawi, a vaccine broadcast statement by Boris, and a Monday morning media round by Sajid Javid. Yet one person has been conspicuously absent: the vaccines minister herself.
Guido can’t see a time Maggie Throup’s done any media since her disastrous Question Time appearance on the 2 December, during which the audience laughed at her. Social media is no better. The last time Throup said anything on vaccines:
She hasn’t posted on Instagram since 2019. Most unbelievably, she hasn’t spoken in the Commons since 30 November. What exactly is she doing?
Compared to the powerhouse that was Nadhim Zahawi, Throup has been totally invisible since her appointment. This morning Sajid was asked who is running the vaccine rollout, and replied that while Throup is doing a “really important job”, he is “personally running” the jab programme:
It begs the question why didn’t the PM just make that decision at the reshuffle, and save the taxpayer Throup’s £22,475 Ministerial salary…
First rule of politics: don’t repeat the charge…
Question Time managed to make a rare bit of news last night when vaccines minister Maggie Throup told the audience she expects we will now need Covid boosters every year from now until who knows. Asked the question by Fiona Bruce, Throup replied:
“At the moment it looks as if we probably will, looking at the way the virus has gone already.”
It won’t be long until we’re all on first-name terms with our vaccinators…
