Rumours swirl around Westminster that both Gordon Brown and David Cameron will soon be reshuffling their Cabinet and Shadow Cabinet teams. Speculation about reshuffles is a bit like the first cuckoo of spring; it comes around every year. With Brown in trouble - but vowing today that he will be not be pushed out - it was only a matter of time before the R word came into play.
The prospect of a Tory frontbench shake-out is more of a surprise, although the grapevine has been buzzing for a while with chatter that Cameron is happy with the performance of only a minority of his top team. These have been dubbed "the untouchables". Which leaves the rest a bit exposed.
It's no surprise that aides to both Brown and Cameron have been dismissing reports that their man is about to wield the axe. Probably, the Tory leader would only shake-up his team after Brown did so; otherwise, it would be an admission that something was wrong. Team Brown tells me the idea of an early reshuffle is "complete rubbish."
Certainly, shuffling the deckchairs around wouldn't solve anything in itself. Ask Tony Blair, who often managed to botch his reshuffles. What Labour MPs want is the captain of their ship to show a clearer sense of direction.
What's the point of reshuffles? It's maddening. They should be specialising, not acting as hired gunslingers, whizzed around willy-nilly for no reason. As soon as they start to get a bit of knowledge and experience, off they get sent somewhere else. You wouldn't do this in business, why do it in politics?
Posted by: Carin | Tuesday, 15 April 2008 at 05:21 PM
If we were all to be shuffled around in our jobs the country would be in a terrible mess. Oh it already is! Joking aside, this job reshuffle is an old propoganda ploy of telling the public that fresh blood is being injected into the failure of the previous cabinet. Can we have a reshuffle on the Lisbon treaty or how about electing a Prime Minister. While on the subject of election let us focus on the truth which is none of the Labour or Tory MP's are worth voting for as they will all sell us out and fill their pockets in the mean time. As for any other party they are unelectable due to shifting policy rather than common sense. Yes let us have a real reshuffle please Mr Brown. I will be the new Prime Minister while you knock on every door in the country and ask for forgiveness for being a traitor. Also we can start the reshuffle by putting corrupt MP's behind bars rather than letting them resign. After all fraud is fraud isnt it?
Posted by: John Finningham | Tuesday, 15 April 2008 at 07:52 PM