The latest buzz on Reid's resignation
Fraser Nelson 7:14pmThe latest Westminster gossip: he was told by Gordon Brown he wouldn’t be Home Secretary or Foreign Secretary—the only acceptable alternative for him. Perhaps Brown thought his cabinet would be too Scottish, perhaps he wanted to make way for these new young faces and have ”maximum flexibility” (Reid’s words not Brown’s) for his reshuffle. Or perhaps, Brown didn’t want to govern with a rival power base in the cabinet, which the indomitable Reid would certainly have become. So Reid chose the back benches over demotion, just as Charles Clarke did.
I gather Reid won’t be giving interviews in the next couple of days, so we’ll have to wait for the definitive version of events. But the above is the talk of the steamie, as they say in Airdrie and Shotts.
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Jeff Stelling
May 7th, 2007 1:11am Report this commentI would have thought it obvious. Reid has made no secret that he was prepared to stand against Brown (only not doing so because straw polling showed that he could not win) and has refused to publicly back him. Why would Brown want to reward this kind of behaviour and keep a disloyal big gun alongside him?
Richard Havers
May 7th, 2007 8:57am Report this commentFraser, from positive to negative in less than 48 hours must make your tittle tattle true.
Alex R
May 7th, 2007 1:01pm Report this commentPersonally I think that it is just as likely that Reid recognised that even were he to keep his job, he would have been a ready scapegoat for the next home office scandel. This way Ried is untained by what is likely to be an unpopular adminstration.
Laurence Maguire
May 7th, 2007 5:12pm Report this commentI am sick to death of hearing the new over used phrase "lessons have been learned" and and "with hindsight" has anyone on this worse than useless government goy any forsight?
nick stonier
May 10th, 2007 2:03am Report this commentJeff Stelling: are you the Sky Sports News presenter?
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