Dear James Purnell,
Not sure if I should offer congratulations or commiserations on your appointment to the Department of Work and Pensions. Your brief for Culture, Media and Sport was without doubt one of the cushy numbers as far as ministerial posts go, but I wonder how well this promotion will work out for you.
Let’s be honest - Gordon Brown likes ‘yes’ men, and he has been placing people like Jacqui Smith and Alistair Darling in the firing line for months because they never disagree with him as they’re either too scared or too incompetent to understand what Uncle Gordon is doing. In fact, both of them have been getting serious amounts of bad press just for saying whatever Uncle Gordon wants them to say. The question is: are you going to roll over and act as the PM’s spokesman or are you going to stand up to the PM when he dumps you in the political dungheap - which, mark my words, will happen a lot over the next few years.
The PM loves surrounding himself by inexperienced and usually incapable Cabinet members, so are you going to fit into that mould as well or are you going to break the shackles and risk ruining your short-term career? Hmmm, I wonder…..
Yours gleefully,
A.Tory
4 responses so far ↓
Ed // January 25, 2008 at 9:59 am
Alan Johnson seems to be doing well at ignoring his master’s voice, perhaps he can give Purnell some tips. Radio 4 had Purnell on this morning, or was his voice airbrushed in later?
Letters From A Tory // January 25, 2008 at 10:22 am
I’ve blogged about poor old Alan Johnson before because Gordon Brown always jumps in and steals Alan’s announcements to make himself look good e.g. five year cancer treatment plans, stolen about a month ago - thereby forcing Alan to keep quiet.
Ed // January 25, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Ahh but Johnson comprehensively trashed Gordon’s idea for compulsory organ donation and pre-emptive screening.
Praguetory // January 28, 2008 at 6:07 pm
It’s a yes man
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