Jacqui Smith Must Stay!

Over at the Motherblog, Peter writes that Gordon Brown is being damaged by, inter alia,

the continuing brouhaha over Jacqui Smith and her expense claims.  A revealing PoliticsHome poll, released this afternoon, finds that a majority of voters (56 percent) think she should step down as Home Secretary – with only 36 percent thinking she should remain in the post.  Despite his support for Smith, the PM will find it difficult to ignore that level of public disapproval.

Count me among the 36% then. Not because I think Mrs Smith deserves to stay in the cabinet. Quite the reverse in fact. Outside the financial departments, no cabinet minister has done more to discredit this ministry than Mrs Smith. For that we owe her some thanks. In any case it would be wrong for her to be turfed out of the Home Office on account of the embarrasment her scandalous abuse – legal or not – of the parliamentary expense account has caused when there are so many other, better reasons for her to wish her ill. It is quite an achievement to make David Blunkett, Jack Straw and Michael Howard seem like members of the Good Guys Club but, credit where it’s due, Mrs Smith has managed to do this. That is bleakly impressive.

No, the longer she remains in office, so her baleful influence must continue to further discredit an already discredited government. For that reason, if no other, she must be permitted to continue to do her level worst.