May caught in immigration row
James Forsyth 12:53pm
Theresa May has up to now proved remarkably adept at avoiding the political bear-traps
that have ensnared so many Home Secretaries in recent years. But she now finds herself caught in a classic Home Office row over who allowed the UK Border Agency to ease passport checks
to cut queues during the summer months.
James Kirkup has the scoop that ministers approved this decision. Given May’s reputation for keeping her ministerial team on the tightest of leashes, this creates a problem for the Home Secretary.
Labour will go at this issue hard. They know it provides them with a populist way to claim that the cuts are endangering the country's security. But May's position is bolstered by the fact that the Prime Minister is her biggest fan. Indeed, when May has clashed with Downing Street — as she has over whether Bill Bratton should be able to apply for the Met job and the future of the government equalities office which Steve Hilton wanted to shut down — Cameron has deferred to her.
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Dennis Churchill
November 7th, 2011 1:07pm Report this commentBut if she goes will it upset the statistically valid cross section of the population---population of the political class that is- trendy Cameron is trying to achieve in his cabinet?
Equal Outcomes results in average people employed to do jobs that average people are not able to do. Regression to the Mean.
Maybe he should phone the local Legal Advice centre and ask if they have any women who would like to be cabinet ministers.
Heartless P.
November 7th, 2011 1:07pm Report this commentLieBOre have NOTHING to say! - THEY opened the taps.
Rhoda Klapp
November 7th, 2011 1:21pm Report this commentDennis, she went to my local bog-standard comprehensive. Not many in the cabinet are of such a non-privileged background. Whether it makes a difference I could not possibly say.
Tiberius
November 7th, 2011 1:24pm Report this commentIn the name of completeness about the DT's story, James, you should also provide the link to Ben Brogan's blog on this.
Axstane
November 7th, 2011 1:31pm Report this commentTwo words - Damian Green.
It is his Ministry.
Dennis Churchill
November 7th, 2011 1:31pm Report this commentRhoda Klapp
November 7th, 2011 1:21pm
So was she selected as part of the Bog Standard Comprehensive Community or the Wimmen Community or the High Heels Wearing Community?
It is all nonsense as New Labour wanted open borders and no doubt infested the agency with people who had been subjected to days in a darkened room listening to Blue Mink’s “Melting Pot” on a loop.
Diane C
November 7th, 2011 1:53pm Report this commentShe is also the one who coined the phrase "the nasty party" for which she should never have been forgiven. Let alone rewarded with such a high profile job. The Tories will battle against that label forever.
TomTom
November 7th, 2011 2:06pm Report this commentSo gratifying that Cameron "is her biggest fan". By what token does Cameron hold his current position ? Is it hereditary ? Is it by popular consent ?
Perhaps Cameron should consider how the fish rots from the head and wonder why he has such a circle of incompetents and bumpkins around his Cabinet table !
RCE
November 7th, 2011 2:09pm Report this commentThat Theresa May is considered a 'big hitter' tells you everything you need to know about the political class in general and Conservative party in particular.
As for her 'clashes' with Cameron; doesn't that just conjure up a delicious image of two of the most ridiculous pompous lightweights huffing and puffing each other into submission?
It is beyond parody. Still, we are one day closer to the economic catastrophe that will expose them all for the frauds they are. Bring it on.
Herr Kartoffelkopf
November 7th, 2011 2:45pm Report this commentJames Kirkup doesn't have a scoop at all - his source (a Union official) says that, as far as UKBA staff were concerned, these decsions had ministerial sanction.
Sounds like a case of vested interests to me...
Publius
November 7th, 2011 2:51pm Report this commentKirkup's "scoop" also says:
'[Lucy Moreton, of the Immigration Service Union] admitted, however, that senior management at the UK Border Agency may have taken the decision themselves. "It is possible that Brodie or another individual at that level made that decision off their own bat," she said.'
So which is it?
Without evidence to the contrary, I don't believe Teresa May would have authorised this.
FvH
November 7th, 2011 4:45pm Report this commentShe is really dreadful - looks permanently knackered, voice shaking, making up pathetic stories for conference applause, unpopular with key groups like the police, gaffe prone - there must be better talent than her fro Home sec. ????
fergus pickering
November 7th, 2011 5:04pm Report this commentThe Nsty Party? She said what everybody knew and what everybody was thinking. That is always the problem with the Conservative Party. They ARE seen as nastier. More intelligent perhaps. More realistic certainly. But nastier. Cameron has striven mightily to make this not so.
As for the usual claptrap that says she got the job because she was a woman, well partly. And Pickles got his job partly because he was Northern, no frills and no public school. Surely even a twit can see that there are too many Etonians about the place, and too many Oxford men. I didn't know that Teresa was bog-standard comprehensive but if that is so she must be ultra bright to have managed to get so far. Wouldn't you say? Of course we need more women and fewer public school men. Any fule no. And the odd black face wouldn't come amiss either.
Anne Wotana Kaye 1
November 7th, 2011 6:04pm Report this commentOh dear, so there were not enough officials to check the passengers. Didn't I read once that there were not enough life boats to get the passengers off the sinking liner?
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