Labour shadow defence minister.
 

Labour have announced their new shadow defence minister John Healey MP a member of amnesty International, Great!

Do not load with a magazine of 20 rounds? In case someone gets hurt?

Does seem an odd choice - has never done anything in his life except for politics and campaigning for liberal issues and has never shown any interest at all in Defence or Foreign Relations.

Mind you I do wonder how long he will be in the job.

Wallace rose to the dizzy height of Captain, thus eminently qualified. Morduant and Williamson, on the other hand... Then there was Francois...

CG

Amnesty aren't all bad - you'd be a lot worse off with a member of the Tax Payers Alliance who doesn't believe in Govt spending at all..............

Wasn't he at the Treasury in 2010 and left a cryptic message in effect saying "that there is no money left, it has all gone".

Nope that was Liam Byrne - "Burning with shame" courtesy of the Grauniad :E

Labour's note to the Conservatives 2010

IG

Thank you for the correction. I got Byrne and Healey mixed up.

Could be worse, it could have been Mr Lammy!

Or the lovey Ms Abbott?

Not forgetting that Denis Healey was at one time a member of the Communist Party; and dear old Fred Mulley, who nodded off during a Review.....

57mm,

Not forgetting that Major Dennis Healey was at one time the beach master at Anzio in 1944 as well as serving on the front line in North Africa, Sicily and Italy...

And also not forgetting that Sergeant Fred Mulley was captured in France in 1940 and spent 5 years as a POW. He was also up until the early hours in the House of Commons (in the period before time limits on debates was brought in) the night before the Royal review...

And how the country needs men of that background now!

weemonkey,


Why? What possible use would that experience be?

We need medical professionals by the bucket load, not more military.

Medics /military - it doesn't matter. What we need are people who have been tested and not found wanting.

PROONE - Of course we need medical staff but we also need people to organise and direct a logistic and support response. Should you want you could look at the duties of a Beach Master who would be working in very dangerous conditions, usually under some form of enemy attack, but still be able to unload ships/Landing craft, clear the beachhead and send the material to where it is needed. Just the kind of person to direct a response to a pandemic.

And it seems the military were pretty useful (as were many others) in fast-tracking the Nightingale Hospital.

The NHS meanwhile, I see has just recruited a "Diversity and Equality Manager" (Que?) in Bristol, starting at £44K pa............

teeteringhead,

As were hundreds and hundreds of contractors, NHS staff, delivery drivers etc etc. etc.

If you don't know what a Diversity and Equality Mgr is then I sincerely hope that you are not involved in managing staff..

Headstone,

What? I fail to see what enemy attack and beaches have to do with 2020? We have a huge and capable logistics industry in this country involved in much larger quantities of products shipped much more frequently than the military, who have contractorised and outsourced most of their logistics.

No one is disputing that we do have a fine, huge and capable logistics industry. You comment implied that a Beach Master would be of no value and is of no relevance in 2020 is utterly wrong - delivering support and logistics under pressure is what he did and whether that was in 1914 or 1944 or 2020 does not matter. Or do you think he was making decisions sat by a computer in an airconditioned office surrounded by helpful staff? As to much of the military support being outsourced - So What? The huge amount that is still in military hands has been of great use and help to the response so far.
Why must you disparage these people?
You previously put we need medical professionals by the bucket load - well I would suggest that at the moment we need the help of military medical staff and military logistic people much more than this person albeit he is needed for other things at other times -
https://www.changeboard.com/article-...tion-template/

Headstone,

I do not disparage them, any help is to be gratefully welcomed, I just do not see them as some golden panacea as some seem too, and a Beachmaster is going to be useful on a beach, especially as we were talking about a beach in Anzio in 1944, hardly relevant to today's challenge.

Among shadow ministerial appointments, that of Home Sec brought resounding cheers from many Police officers, two of whom in my family. Interestingly, I have seen absolutely no comment in print or on line for Ms Abbott's precipitous descent down the food chain.

langleybaston,

I think you will find that she is quite unwell, and has been for some time.

Took a few hours longer than I thought but the stones have been raised slightly for the usual well-rehearsed slime to emerge again. While the practitioners couldn't be expected to recognise 'old world' values of constancy, and dedicated application to duty, displayed by those they denigrate, their enthusiasm for the self-interest characteristics of their modern-day 'heroes' engenders severe nausea. The collection of 'me first' believers inhabiting high office demonstrates 'values' which their predecessors of last century would (and do) find unacceptably anti-social ... but, why concern oneself when there's profit to be made?

Cornish Jack,


What? Values etc have changed hardly at all, we still had liars and crooks in Parliament in every decade from about 1600 to now, only I think it fair to say that now there are considerably fewer. "Old world" values are NOT of constancy and dedicated application to duty, they were more about keeping a clear elite status and making sure that the bulk of humanity stayed firmly where it was, in a society where your family name and wealth meant far more than your ability or capability.

The idea of a meritocracy was anathema to these people.

Thankfully it is far less so today.

Langley, She did announce that she too would fall on her sword when Jeremy left... or was it fall on Jeremy's sword?.. I might have porked that one up...

Either way she never intended to remain in cabinet after his departure, probably knowing that whoever came into office would have had the door slapping on her posterior on day one, as she hopefully descends into obscurity again... and long may it last..

pr00ne

for example: As I am now retired I no longer manage staff, but have managed quite a few successfully in the past. I am aware of the Bristol post's requirements from the job advert:

My apologies for one mistake: the pay on offer is £45k-£51k.

At least he got a good kip in while reviewing the RAF along with Betty
...
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....736b10049e.jpg

Nutloose,

He was 60 years old and had been up all the previous day in a debate, voting at 4am in the House of Commons, then went straight to Finningley. I think he needs cutting some slack for that. I did chuckle though at the following week's Private Eye that suggested he should be tried for treason for "sleeping with the Queen.."

"Going for a Mulley" entered the RAF euphemism lexicon soon after...
.

Shame that Mulley photograph was not sufficiently wide to show my chum standing at the left edge.

and I was a bit further away in the Met. Office.

I am happy that my daughter at last has started her medical career as a Physicains Associate. 5 years of hard graft to get there. Straight into the biggest health crisis she will likely see in her life. Praise be on the likes of her, rather that the waffle I have read on this thread. And praise to the military involved with this pandemic. Stay safe all.

Cat Techie,

How right you are, and all the best to your daughter! I have two daughters in the medical profession and have nothing but praise for them and all their colleagues at this time!
Forget the "smart" comments - be thankful for the likes of them and the military doing the sh** work during this difficult time!

Bill

Cat Techie. Congratulations to your daughter, and the wish she stays safe. I second Bill's thanks to all the people doing the graft through this crisis.

Was it the case that the afore mentioned Sgt Mulley was in the defence seat when the political decision was taken to buy the Nimrod AEW3?

Waffle? were just getting warmed up ;) .... Congrats on your daughter, long may she have a distinguished career and stay safe.

That is immaterial: her deep dislike of the Police transcends her state of health. I deplore the one, and wish the other much improved.

Are we talking more than the diabetes she's been using as a convenient excuse for some years? Something that would explain her recent 'confusion', the mismatched shoe incident, etc.?

langleybaston,

No it is not. You queried the lack of comment on her decline, I gave you a reason why.

Jackonicko,

I think you'll find it is something far more serious, ask a real journo, they all know.

So absolutely unfit for her job then !