Lord Drayson Steps Down

[Wrathmonk]

Lord Drayson leaves his post ....

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7082833.stm

Rats leaving the sinking ship?

Note that his replacement will be paid (unlike Drayson who was unpaid).

[Sgt.Slabber]

Did the noble lord do anything to deserve being paid?

[Always a Sapper]

Who? .....

Thought it was Swiss Des there for a moment... Ahh well one can always hope.

Wonder if we will ever get one that actually knows something about defence and Dept they are heading up?

[Melchett01]

Did the noble lord do anything to deserve being paid?

Not a great fan of this administration full stop, but to be fair, Lord Drayson was at least on side more than most in pushing our case.

As for his replacement, Baroness Taylor ..... I really don't know what to make of her. Ex Chair(wo)man of the Intelligence and Security Committee, so in theory should at least have a vague understanding of what is going on. However, she was all up for our little Mesopotamian adventure and has yet to offer a dissenting voice against the Government during this parliament.

Maybe a Trojan Horse type character - on the surface could be of benefit to the military, but also propping up the govt at a time when it is taking a repeated and very public hammering over defence in general.

[Kitbag]

More to the point, looking up his replacement, Baronness Ann Taylor indicates that she has been Chairman, Intelligence and Security (Cabinet Office) Committee (to 11 Apr 2005) as an MP, but as I read her activities in both houses has no interest in business procedures, procurement, or defence, never criticises the Government and is very concerned about vaccination programs and education.

Suitable for the job or a poodle to roll over at Gordons bidding? Time will tell.

[Not_a_boffin]

I'm on record as not being much of a fan of his and I'm afraid this only confirms my view. If he wants to fulfill a life-long ambition of racing at Le Mans, then fair play to him.

BUT don't expect thanks or plaudits for :

1. "Re-organising" DPA and DLO into DE&S and then b8ggering off without actually making it work - far less being accountable for a 25% reduction in staff to service a procurement / acquisition process that is clearly still FUBAR.

2. Making a big song and dance about having sorted out major equipment programmes - FSTA, JCA, helicopters (and yes CVF), without having actually agreed production contracts for any of them!

3. Trumpeting a Defence Industrial Strategy which is at best sketchy in the details of how it is to work and at worst capitulation to Big And Expensive Systems.

He appears to have replicated a consultancy role as a minister in which lots of "bright" ideas are proposed, but never successfully implemented. Meanwhile, the wheels wobble ever closer to the end of the axles.......

And lord knows what the new one will be like now real hard decisions will be required soon!

[AonP]

The MoD website story:

http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/DefencePolicyAndBusiness/LordDraysonToBeReplacedByBaronessAnnTaylor.htm

Any chance she will be any better - does anyone know her background?

[Lamenting Navigator]

From what I've heard, Taylor's a good egg. Fights her corner with whichever brief she has. Probably a good thing for the MoD right now!

Drayson's off to race cars, isn't he? I'm sure there's a line there, somewhere...

[Impiger]

Bernard Jenkin has got the right end of the stick for once!

Fan or not Drayson new about business and I think his leaving now will only be damaging and distracting at a time when we're trying to find a substantial amount of cash down the back of the sofa!

[Buoy Racer]

this can only be bad news. Drayson was an impressive minister who seemed to me to achieve and deliver more than any other previous Minister and he did it unpaid, would regularly avoid the trappings of office and spent a great deal of his time driving through the MoD process crap. Rumours of PR08 are not good and I wonder if he resigned because the future is so depressing

[tucumseh]

" at a time when we're trying to find a substantial amount of cash down the back of the sofa!"


I'm afraid Drayson was led to the sofa, had his hand stuffed into a dark place and discovered loadsamoney - but then followed his predecessors by putting it back and doing absolutely nothing about deliberate waste.