Flapless,
You are absolutely correct I seem to think that his background was in the Inland Revnue (union?), but I cannot remember his name.
Only time will tell whether he is more effective than the last at galvanising the troops. It is interesting to see the mess that the UK Government has got itself into over the firemen; "2Jags" having tea with the "troops" and pulling one way, "the pickpocket" pulling another and "Our Tone" checking the latest poll returns to see what camp to jump into.