Political blog, May 19: Is Ann in line for Speaker's job?
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Speaker Michael Martin quits - is
Ann the people's choice?
No sooner had Michael Martin said he was to quit than
speculation started that the Maidstone MP Ann Widdecombe could
be prepared to step in as an "interim" Speaker until the next
election.
Could it happen? It might and if the public were to have the
final say, there would be a better than evens chance she'd get the
job.
My reservations are that while Ann undeniably has wide public
support and is admired for her straight-talking and principles, I
am not entirely convinced she would win the support of her peers in
Parliament. This was the problem she encountered when she stood for
the leadership of the Conservative party in 2001 - there was no
question she enjoyed huge grass roots support in the party but it
was not shared by her colleagues in Parliament, who eventually
forced her to quit the leadership race.
But what do you think? Would Ann be a good choice?
email me or add your comments at the bottom of this blog.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I
am not surprised that KCC lost no time in
putting out a press
release about the news that it now looks set to get back the
bulk of its money still tied up in three Icelandic banks.
The issue of the £50million that KCC has locked
in the banks is, I'm told, is being raised often on the doorsteps
by voters being canvassed by prospective county councillors, along
with the issue of chief officers' pay - and inevitably MPs'
allowances.
Good news about KCC's cash has been pretty thin on the
ground and reached arguably the lowest point for the authority
when the Audit Commission labelled it "negligent" over the
affair - a charge that enraged KCC, which has now succeeded in
persuading the Commission to drop the word.
While the opposition parties at County Hall may have their
suspicions about the timing of the release of this "good" news, the
information has come from Cipfa, one of the
leading professional accountancy bodies.
It is incorporated into one of its technical bulletins
issued to councils about how they should reflect the matter of the
deposits in their annual accounts. As a result, the timing is
probaly simply a happy coincidence for the Conservative
administration in charge at KCC.
The devil is in the detail, of course and it is interesting to
read the careful choice of the words KCC uses about the
development, saying it "should" and "is
likely" (rather than "will") to get the money returned.
Until KCC gets sent cheques by the administrators' of the three
banks and gets them cashed, the caution is understandable.
Either way, KCC has had its fingers burned and local authority
Treasury Management, rather like MPs' allowances, is unlikely ever
to be the same again. (Even if KCC does get back 90 per cent
of the cash, that still represents a potential loss of
£5million)
Guy Voizey, who is the parliamentary spokesman for Canterbury
and Whitstable Liberal Democrats and author of The Treasurer’s
Global Guide to Investing Cash - no, I've never read it - has
given a different take. He claims that on the basis of Cipfa's
technical advice to councils, KCC will, by 2011, still be waiting
for £18.1 million of the £50million - of which at least £4.5
million may never be returned.
KCC remains confident it will be treated as what are known as
"preferential creditors" when it comes to dishing out the money but
according to Mr Voizey, that could be tested in the courts.
*************************************
Finding Kent MPs to go on record about the
Speaker Michael Martin is proving rather
difficult. It now looks like the pressure on him has forced his
hand - his retirement is now expected to be announced this
afternoon.
Privately, most MPs I have spoken to think that his handling of
events has been a disaster. Certainly, his performance
yesterday was shambolic.
I have seen better-run council meetings, which is saying
something.
Ashford MP Damian Green came as close as a
shadow minister could without breaching party protocol when he said
that what the House of Commons needed was a
"powerful and respected Speaker" - another careful but
telling choice of words. Roger Gale, the Thanet
North MP, takes the view that focus on the Speaker is a
"distraction". I'm unconvinced, though, by the Conservatives call
for a general election and even less convinced by David Cameron's
assertion that his clarion call is "not a partisan" one.
*************************************
After some time, Kent County Council has
finally appointed a permanent highways director. Mike
Austerberry, who has been acting director, has got the top
job as the new Executive Director of Kent County
Council Environment, Highways and Waste, handling a £135million
budget.
His appointment comes more than a year after
KCC parted company with the former director Adam
Wilkinson, who left rather abruptly for personal reasons
last September.
Tuesday, May 19 2009
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