Not only is Nick Clegg missing from Tim Farron’s star-studded top team, the LibDems have forgotten to include their former leader on the list of current MPs on their website:
There are only 8 of ’em, you’d have thought they could remember them all…
The LibDems have announced their new ‘top’ team. Clearly Nick Clegg is too busy with his speaking engagements:
“Nick Clegg was offered a post in Tim’s spokesperson team, but decided after some consideration that he wanted to take a quieter role on the back benches and would not be taking a spokesperson position at this time.”
Here are the riveting details in full:
- Leader: Tim Farron MP
- Economics: Baroness Susan Kramer
- Foreign Affairs/Chief Whip/Leader of the house: Tom Brake MP
- Defence: Baroness Judith Jolly
- Home Affairs: Alistair Carmichael MP
- Health: Norman Lamb MP
- Education: John Pugh MP
- Work and Pensions: Baroness Zahida Manzoor
- Business: Lorely Burt
- Energy and Climate Change: Lynne Featherstone
- Local Government: Mayor of Watford, Cllr Dorothy Thornhill
- Transport: Baroness Jenny Randerson
- Environment and Rural Affairs: Baroness Kate Parminter
- International Development: Baroness Lindsay Northover
- Culture Media and Sport: Baroness Jane Bonham-Carter
- Equalities: Baroness Meral Hussein-Ece
- Justice/Attorney General: Lord Jonathan Marks
- Northern Ireland: Lord John Alderdice
- Scotland: Willie Rennie MSP, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats
- Wales: Kirsty Williams AM, Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats
- Campaigns Chair: Greg Mullholland MP
- Grassroots Campaigns: Cllr Tim Pickstone, Chair of the Association of Liberal Democrat Councillors
Who?
Poor Nick Clegg has seen his £134,565 Deputy Prime Minister’s salary plummet to a measly £67,000 now he is merely a lowly MP. How will he cope?
By hiring Leading Authorities, a Washington based agent, to manage his after-dinner speaking engagements. Boasting of his “internationalist approach to world affairs”, Clegg says he is available to give speeches “in five European languages”:
“For UK audiences, Clegg shares his experiences about the future of politics and the direction of the UK, specifically relating to the EU. For international groups, he explores how current UK politics affects international relations.”
How much will it set you back to book him? A cool $55,000.
Asian audiences with deeper pockets are asked to “please inquire”.
Seems a bit steep… Ken Clarke will do you a drab speech about Europe for under 10 grand…
Labour MPs who suffered polling day humiliation must be delighted at the prospect of Tom Watson becoming their party’s new deputy leader. Apparently he wants to turn the Labour Party into the “finest campaigning organisation in Britain”:
@mrstth Basically I love the Labour party and want it to be the finest campaigning organisation in Britain. That's the deputy job.
— Tom Watson (@tom_watson) May 11, 2015
So what’s his track record there? The man who cocked up the 2012 Bradford West by-election spent this election campaign rounding up hundreds of Labour activists and herding them to Sheffield Hallam. Watson’s vanity “mission to kick Nick Clegg out of parliament“, as he briefed the Birmingham Mail, even saw him try and fail to get Owen Jones to stand. This post on his Facebook page reveals Watson’s responsibility for diverting valuable resources away from marginal seats, which Labour went on to lose:
“Though [Labour’s Sheffield Hallam candidate] is not on the official key seat list, he is top of mine.”
Those resources diverted by Watson would have been much better spent in marginals like, say, Morley and Outwood…
Better late than never…
