Iain Duncan Smith's appointment is a triumph for the welfare agenda

Vulture

Yup - good move. The quiet man may not be terribly bright but he's a decent cove with his heart in the right place. He should invite Frank Field to stop wasting his life in Liebore and come and help him sort broken Britain.

Danko

FANTASTIC!

Well done to Iain and well done to DC for appointing him.

Mr. Green

Right Ian,
Task number 1.
Sort out the pensions

Task number 2.
Look into the IR35 law which has caused major issues with small companies.

Richard of York

Yes good call probably the only Tory I actually like...a genuinely decent man.
Good luck IDS

Cameron Watt

Many congratulations to Iain - this is very well deserved, and he will do an excellent job.

Mark

Dick of Dork.

What an odious narrow-minded worm you are...

Tiberius

A very welcome appointment and, I would hope, send a message to Cameron's cabal of detractors that he isn't just a pair of legs.

With Gove keeping education, the Cabinet has retained its Tory nature in key areas.

BTW Theresa May may not be a hammer thrower, but she is competent. Give her a chance.

Richard of York

Boris has summed this cocktail government up well I think.....bit of a mongrel cross between a bulldog and a chihuahua.
or a yellow spotted blue fish like the one in finding Nemo.
Hehe you have to love him even if you can't stand is party.

Tom Burroughes

excellent news. A thoroughly decent man with a real passion for the job. He is doing the work that Frank Field attempted to do - but was thwarted over - 13 years ago.

Good luck to him.

Steven

RofY -

IDS: "the only Tory I actually like"

Boris: "you have to love him"

So that would be two Tories that you like then?

AP

IDS may care about the issue but DWP requires an immense amount of intellctual firepower too. And IDS is hardly the brightest bulb in the box.

Commentator

Good luck Ian and watch your back....I am sure that when you start to think the unthinkable, Dave and Cleggover will do what Blair and Brown did to another decent and visionary man, Frank Field.

Chuck Unsworth

'Richard' is clearly yet another victim of State Education. It's a pity about his generation, but things can only get better.

Richard of York

@Stevie
Is Boris a Tory or a clown?.....ask Shameron!

Verity

Any word on how Mr Duncan-Smith's wife Betsy is doing? I hope that we haven't heard any news means she's improving.

logdon

Vulture
May 12th, 2010 12:48pm

I quite like IDS for his obvious honesty, although obviously not a qualification for leadership against a venal lying Labour.

Good idea about Field though.

Nansen

RoY: I am neither British nor resident in the UK, but I cherish learning about British affairs on CH. Your comments are invariably silly. Go for a walk, do something useful with your time, instead of demeaning this excellent forum. (This is my 3rd post ever on CH.)

Ian C

Vulture

Absolutely right about both IDS and F.Field.

2trueblue

Brilliant move. Definitely the best man for the job and a just reward for all his hard work so far.

Steven

RofY -

"Hehe you have to love him even if you can't stand is [sic] party."

I think your note conveyed your understanding that he is a Tory.

Commentator

Verity, agreed. Only learnt recently how ill she had been. You can only wonder whether her illness was triggered in any way by the vicious campaign of lies and smears to which she was subjected by the modernisers a few years back.

Verity

Commentator - Well, we don't know and we'll never know. But I certainly wish her a strong recovery, and I wish IDS success in his post. He's a fine individual, and he's honest. This must be an absolutely ghastly time for him.

John Lea

Vulture: what makes you think he's not terribly bright? Every time I've heard IDS speak, I've been impressed by his intelligence and common sense.

Ali C

IDS is a good choice for this post.

I wonder if anyone will be asking Frank 'think the unthinkable' Field about his welfare ideas (the reforming ones McBrown stamped on). Frank just doesn't know he's a Tory. (Bit like Kate Hoey, both [too] sensible members of Labour party)

Diana Smith

Please right the wrong done to pensioners at the last budget and make sure that all parts of our pension are increased every year.
I am 68, have worked all my life and on reaching 60 opted to work an extra 5 years, despite ill health, to top up my state pension. I rely on this as I have never been in a position to be able to afford a private pension.
The first year I came in under budget, the second and third years I had to dip into my savings. One month into this year and my accounts spreadsheet is looking rather grim. Thanks