There are some arms that just won’t be twisted
So, parliamentary private secretary Angela Smith has retracted her threat to resign over the abolition of the 10p rate of tax after arm twisting from the egregious Geoff Hoon:
Smith’s change of heart came after Geoff Hoon, the chief whip, warned her that her departure would hand a gift to the Tories. A government source indicated that ministers thought Smith, MP for Sheffield Hillsborough, had been naive. “I don’t think Angela quite realised what she was doing. I don’t think she quite realised the severity of it,” the source said.
It’s clear now that somebody failed to have the same little chat with Gordon Brown - or so bravely speak anonymously to the press - when as Chancellor he decided he was abolishing the bottom rate. For want of a nail the kingdom was lost, and all that.
Posted on April 18th, 2008 at 9:57 am
A government source indicated that ministers thought Smith, MP for Sheffield Hillsborough, had been naive. “I don’t think Angela quite realised what she was doing. I don’t think she quite realised the severity of it,” the source said.
a. What a patronising turd that source undoubtedly is.
b. And how pitiful to give way to them. Is Smith the new Clare Short or something?
ejh’s last blog post..Everybody loves a Ryanair fax
It was probably family values wot done it. She employs her husband as a “researcher”, so if she resigned she wouldn’t be the only one whose income would be adversely affected.
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But couldn’t she resign to spend more time with her research?
ejh’s last blog post..Everybody loves a Ryanair fax
Not just patronising, but stupid too. How much of a gift to the Tories is “our PPSs are too naive to know how severe resignation is”? We’re the party who talks to the press first and understands politics second = we had credibility. But we eated it.