Good lord
Daniel Korski 6:32pm
Earlier this week, Lord Malloch Brown announced he's resigning his brief as Africa Minister in the Foreign Office. I'm sure this will cause some rejoicing, including among my Coffee House colleagues. It was, after all, the Spectator that went to town on the former UN staffer's grace-and-favour appartment in Admiralty Arch and the other niceties offered to him by the Prime Minister a few years ago.
However, I have always found Malloch Brown professional, courteous, and insightful. He may have struggled to find his proper role immediately upon appointment - foolishly describing himself as a Richelieu-type character to David Milliband's king - and sometimes allowed his sense of self-worth get the better of him, but he was miles ahead of any other Foreign Office minister.
Most ministers today have little idea of their brief. Not only are they shuffled around at great speeds, few have any foreign experience before becoming ministers. As the Labour government enters its late winter, the quality is not set to rise.
But Malloch Brown was different. In many ways he was what exists in the US administration: an expert political appointee with an impressive rolodex. On the very few times I met him to discuss a policy issue, say Afghanistan, I found a man who had not only read his brief, but absorbed my writings on the subject to be discussed - and was prepared to concede points as well as argue back. For someone accused of being anti-American, I once found myself in the (unusual) position of taking an anti-American view on a particular issue as he took the US side. That was under George W Bush.
Lord Malloch Brown will do well in the Lords, where he can fulfil the Upper House's intended function: to provide considered and expert review of government policy and legislation.
But if the government was smart it would appoint him to replace Sir John Sawers as the UK's ambassador to the UN. Having been UNDP chief and Kofi Annan's Chief of Staff, few people know UN Plaza as Lord Malloch Brown does. With Susan Rice, a close Obama confidant, as the US envoy to the UN, only someone of Malloch Brown's stature can safeguard UK-UN interests. If appointed, there is no reason to believe a Cameron government would sack him - so long as he remained loyal to his by then newly-elected masters.
Lord Malloch Brown may have his flaws, but he has been a good public servant. He could still serve HMG in a number of ways.
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poltroon
July 11th, 2009 6:49pm Report this commentI entirely agree with this. Malloch Brown has done a mainly good job and with the right motives. We desperately need people in Government, particularly in the Foreign Office, with some real word experience. (Unlike the deeply embarrassing Milliband.) It would be very wise for Cameron to find a role for Malloch-Brown. They might also find a role for Aru Darzi whose very sensible polyclinic ideas the Tories have made the mistake of rejecting.
Henry Rogers
July 11th, 2009 7:07pm Report this comment"..........I found a man who had not only read his brief, but absorbed my writings on the subject to be discussed......."
This is satire, isn't it? Isn't it?
Steve.W
July 11th, 2009 9:02pm Report this commentLord Malloch Brown - “sometimes allowed his sense of self-worth get the better of him”.
Only sometimes?
JohnOfEnfield
July 11th, 2009 9:59pm Report this commentSmith, Malloch-Brown, Darling & now Dannat. Each delivering different hammer blows to the executive.
Gordon's reign is entering it's final phase.
The Huntsman
July 12th, 2009 12:00am Report this comment"With Susan Rice, a close Obama confidant, as the US envoy to the UN, only someone of Malloch Brown's stature can safeguard UK-UN interests."
In much the same way, i daresay, as Lord Rumba of Rio safeguards British interests when he deals with the EU.
Malloch-Brown is the consummate UN insider who went native long ago. He has none of the scepticism about the UN required to do a proper job of defending British interests there.
He may stand out in this administration as someone who is both competent and a master of his brief, but, let us be clear, he does not exactly have a great deal of competition in that regard.
Instead let us send someone to the UN who fights Britain's corner relentlessly instead of cosying up to the anti-Western claque that currently runs the show.
Perhaps Norman Tebbit might be tempted out of retirement....
Major Plonquer
July 12th, 2009 4:17am Report this commentWhat is it with the Speccy today? Three articles in a row about:
1: Malloch-Brown. Jeez, he wasn't really the clown who almost destroyed the relationship with our closest ally, was he? He's just a cuddly old duffer and his previous pecadillos are water under the bridge.
2: Jacqui Smith. Awe, poor baby. Pushed around by the mad Scotsman and forced to endure embarrasment at husband's right hand (literally). She may have been hopeless as Home Secretary and did immense damage to our personal liberties, but that's no reason to condemn her, now, is it?
3: Alistair Darling - the voice of reason within the Cabinet?????
Excuse me while I puke.
What's come over you people? Is this an attempt at humour? Or is it the start of a Barcley Brothers Back Brown camapign?
Cut it out.
IM
July 12th, 2009 8:01am Report this commentI see in one of the papers today he calls the Brown regime 'chaotic'
The Laughing Cavalier
July 12th, 2009 8:04am Report this commentI heard that in the FCO he is known as Bollock Brown. Wonder why.
mitch
July 12th, 2009 10:00am Report this commentIt seems that anyone who works for brown walks away shaking their heads in disbelief.
I just wish he would.
Victor, NW Kent
July 12th, 2009 10:07am Report this commentStill two Browns in the cabinet. Des Browne left aeons ago and was succeeded as Defence Minister by somebody-or-the-other who gave way thingamajig. No wonder Afghanistan is a mess - 3 Defence Ministers in 2 years.
When Nick Brown resigns you will know that time is up for Gordon Brown.
Denis Cooper
July 12th, 2009 12:53pm Report this comment"... the Upper House's intended function: to provide considered and expert review of government policy and legislation."
So who says that's its "intended function"?
In the more distant past the function of the House of Lords was to make known the views of powerful landed interests in the country, in the hope that it might prevent the sovereign from embarking on a course of action which would lead to some of them calling out their tenants in armed rebellion against the Crown.
More recently, that representation of powerful interests was extended from the land-owning interests to manufacturing and commercial interests, and then to trade union "barons" and party "grandees", for the same reason - that while the Commons might purport to represent the mass of the people, who in most cases otherwise had no or very limited personal power, the Lords would represent those with great personal power, who could in practice prevent the government from achieving its policy objectives.
Nothing to do with "considered and expert review"; just power.
If I was to define my "intended function" of a second legislative chamber it would be this: to give greater and fairer representation to the views of the great majority of the electorate who didn't actually vote for the MPs who provide each government with its biddable majority in the House of Commons, and prevent the government which they sustain from becoming nothing more than an "elected dictatorship".
IH
July 12th, 2009 12:56pm Report this commentVictor - Nick Brown - how I hate that man - he looks like what he is a bouncer!
Occasional Ostrich
July 12th, 2009 1:33pm Report this commentThe Laughing Cavalier
July 12th, 2009 8:04am
Of course, the FCO's nickname may well say as much about themselves as it does about him.
Glyn H
July 12th, 2009 4:45pm Report this commentMallock Brown is even more pompous than Geoffrey Martin when the EU representative to the UK and the Today programme. If we want an ambassador to the UN could we borrow John Bolton please? An how about Christopher Booker as Europe Minister. We need a bit more straight talking and a little less undertstanding towards these corrupt institutions!
The Bellman
July 12th, 2009 9:35pm Report this commentInteresting that Daniel Korski finds Lord MB 'professional, courteous and insightful'. The Queen once met me.
Ian C
July 13th, 2009 12:05pm Report this commentAt bottom, he is a handwringer in chief who brown-nosed morally equivalent dictator in chief, Kofi Annan, and behaved disgracefully in hleping Kofi over the cover up for his son's role in the aid for Iraq scandal.
He is a believer in that most useless of institutions and to send him as ambassador would be to simply extend its destructive life and make itself and him believe it and he have authority above their station.
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