thetorydiary: Picks of the Year

Picks of the Year

Sunday, January 03, 2010

One to Watch in 2010

Jonathan Isaby's pick: My one to watch is a politician who has served uninterruptedly on the Conservative front bench since he was made a junior whip in the House of Lords by Margaret Thatcher in 1988. Chief Whip in the Lords in John Major's Government, Lord Strathclyde has now ably led the party in the Upper House since 1998. He has constantly been in the top third of the ConHome shadow cabinet league table. Whilst David Cameron may become Prime Minister next year with an overall Conservative majority in the Commons, any administration he forms will start its life as a minority government in the House of Lords. Mr Cameron will of course be entitled to appoint a fresh raft of working Conservative peers - hence ConHome's search for new nominations; but using his political and diplomatic skills, it is Lord Strathclyde who will be a key figure in delivering key votes from the red benches. Few members of Cameron's Cabinet will be more important to the success of any Conservative government.

Tim Montgomerie's pick: I have never been a fan of the A-list but I am a big fan of the female candidates who have been selected as Conservative candidates during David Cameron's leadership. Many female A-listers were of relatively poor quality but Conservative Associations have had the sense to ignore CCHQ's ambition for more than 50% of candidates to be women and have selected the best of the crop. I don't want to mention too many names but Karen Bradley (formerly of the Tory policy unit), Philippa Stroud (because of her lifelong commitment to social justice), Liz Truss (a radical thinker on public sector reform), Harriett Baldwin (because of her knowledge of the financial world) and Fiona Bruce (because of her legal and business background) are just five stars-in-the-waiting. There are many others. My hope is that David Cameron does not promote them too quickly. They deserve a chance to learn the ropes of being an MP - particularly those with marginal seats and the need to make good first impressions on their constituents. My one-to-watch for 2010 is therefore not a person but 'the female Tory MP'.

> Previous picks: The gaffe of 2009

Posted at 13:06 in Candidates, Picks of the Year | Permalink | Comments (12)

Thursday, December 31, 2009

Gaffe of 2009

Jonathan Isaby's pick: As we pointed out earlier in the month, the Prime Minister has committed a number of gaffes during the year. But the top prize surely goes to Gordon Brown for that cringeworthy YouTube performance promising action on MPs' expenses, complete with weird smile and odd body movements. It was even the subject of the following day's sketch by Simon Hoggart in The Guardian. Watch it again here:

Tim Montgomerie's pick: I was on holiday in the Lake District when I first heard Anthony Steen's interview for Radio 4's World at One. My mouth fell open and stayed open! Steen blamed "jealousy" for constituents' anger at his claims for trees on his country estate. He said that the public had no right to know what he did with taxpayer-funded allowances. If Peter Viggers' Duck House most symbolised MPs' abuse of expenses the Steen interview did most to typify MPs' arrogance.

> Previous Pick of 2009 was for The Best Blogger.

Posted at 11:36 in Light relief, Parliamentarians' duties and remuneration, Picks of the Year, Videos | Permalink | Comments (23)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Blogger of 2009

Jonathan Isaby's pick: I'm going to give my award for blogging this year not to a politician or a party activist, but to a journalist from the mainstream media - Paul Waugh, the deputy political editor of the Evening Standard. He has come into his own as a blogger during 2009 and always has something to say on the issues of the day, often ahead of the curve with his take on political developments. For a quick tasster of his posts from the year, read this prescient prediction of Alan Johnson's move to the Home Office, his minute-by-minute account of the make-or-break PLP meeting after this year's local and European elections and this account of the opening session of the Chilcot Inquiry. Make sure you have him bookmarked in your favourites for election year!

Tim Montgomerie's pick: John Redwood's blog is my pick. I've praised his economic insight before. Alongside Allister Heath's City AM editorials, I have learnt more about the huge economic challenges facing this country from the former Welsh Secretary than from any other source. I cannot believe that his talents won't be used by the Tory government we all hope for. His blog is a success because he matches quality with regularity. He blogs every morning without fail. He also tackles non-economic subjects. By way of one topical example, his reaction to the Detroit terror attempt mixed common sense with speed. He noted that the attack was a failure of the authorities to act on intelligence. More intrusive checks at airports are not the best protection for travellers.

> We have already named our Backbenchers of the Year, Frontbenchers of the Year, and Moments of the Year.

Posted at 19:30 in Blogs, websites, e-etc, Picks of the Year | Permalink | Comments (27)

Moment of 2009

Jonathan Isaby's pick: It was the story that broke during the evening of Thursday 7th May and came to dominate the political agenda for so much of the rest of the year: the Daily Telegraph had bought the discs with the full unexpurgated, unredacted details of MPs' expenses claims going back to 2004 and it was going to make the most of it. Running stories day after day for what seemed like forever, it was explosive stuff and led to the ousting of the Commons Speaker and has caused numerous MPs to exit the Commons - with possible criminal charges yet to follow for some. Whilst the paper's blanket coverage did a disservice to some in the way that it sometimes failed really to differentiate between the worst offenders and those who were merely acting on the guidance of the Fees Office, it was the defining story of the year and has meant that long overdue reforms to the system of MPs' expenses are finally being implemented.

Tim Montgomerie's pick: I agree with Jonathan's choice but needing to pick something different I'll choose the Left's reaction to The Sun's endorsement of David Cameron. Although The Sun's decision was more of a response to Tory ascendancy than a cause of it, CCHQ are very glad to have Britain's best-selling newspaper on side (even if it sometimes goes over the top). My moment, however, is the reaction of the Labour Left to The Sun's decision (captured in the video below and in these words from Harriet Harman). The reaction gives us a taste of the lurch to the left that is underway within the Labour movement. If the retiring generation of Blairites are not replaced with equally strong figures, union leaders like Tony Woodley and left-wing bloggers will dominate Labour in the years to come.

> We have already named our Backbenchers of the Year and Frontbenchers of the Year.

Posted at 07:19 in Fleet Street, Parliamentarians' duties and remuneration, Picks of the Year | Permalink | Comments (6)

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Frontbencher of 2009

Jonathan Isaby's pick: Rather than single out one individual from the frontbench for this award, I am going to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those once called The Indispensables by Tim; in other words, those shadow frontbenchers outside the shadow cabinet who are not necessarily household names, but who have been beavering away in their posts for the entire parliament, if not longer, mastering the detail of their brief and gaining the respect of those working in their field of expertise. It would be impossible to name all those from across both Houses who deserve recognition here, so I have picked out six MPs who typify the hard-working shadow ministers of state who fit this category:

Nick Gibb, - Shadow schools minister since 2005;
Gerald Howarth - Shadow defence minister with responsibility for the RAF since 2002;
Julian Lewis - Shadow defence minister with responsibility for the Royal Navy since 2002;
Tim Loughton - Shadow minister for children since 2003;
Stephen O'Brien - Shadow health minister since 2005;
James Paice - Shadow minister for agriculture since 2004 (a post he also held under William Hague).

It must be hoped that their work in opposition will be rewarded with appropriate jobs in government.

Tim Montgomerie's pick: Liam Fox has had a good year - establishing himself as the Defence Secretary-in-waiting and the most important right-winger in David Cameron's team. Sayeeda Warsi has also finished the year well. Her Question Time performance and her reaction to being "egged" by Muslim extremists have made her one of the party's best communicators. On balance, however, my choice for frontbencher of 2009 is Philip Hammond. The Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury has certainly won Tory members' confidence - steadily climbing the performance league table to the number five slot. His assured media performances have been central to this climb but behind-the-scenes, away from the camera this slightly funereal character is well regarded by colleagues and a little feared. To instil a little fear in frontbench colleagues is a good quality in a Chief Secretary. Every frontbencher wants to spend money and it is the Chief Secretary's job to protect the interests of the Treasury (and the taxpayer). Hammond is set to be a powerful Deputy if George Osborne becomes Chancellor. George Osborne is always going to be distracted by interesting political projects and that will increase the influence of his second-in-command.

> Yesterday Jonathan Isaby chose Douglas Carswell MP as Backbencher of 2009 and Tim Montgomerie chose Lord Lawson.

Posted at 08:31 in Frontbench, Picks of the Year | Permalink | Comments (14)

Monday, December 28, 2009

Backbencher of 2009

Jonathan Isaby's pick: My choice for backbencher of the year goes to the independent-minded free-thinking Conservative backbencher who took a bold, brave, yet thoroughly correct stand in tabling an historic Commons motion in May this year:

"That this House has no confidence in Mr Speaker and calls for him to step down; notes that Mr Speaker has failed to provide leadership in matters relating to hon. Members' expenses; believes that a new Speaker urgently needs to be elected by secret ballot..."

Through that simple motion - allied with his outspoken musings on his blog and in the media on the matter - Douglas Carswell played a pivotal role in causing the resignation of the much discredited Michael Martin, the first Speaker to be forced from office for over 300 years. For that alone he deserves this accolade.

Tim Montgomerie's pick: I'm picking a big beast backbencher from the Lords, former Chancellor Nigel Lawson. Like Peter Lilley, in the debate on climate change Lord Lawson has been a brave and persuasive advocate of a strategy of technological adaptation rather than avoidance. His position was set out in his important book, An Appeal to Reason: A Cool Look at Global Warming. In the aftermath of Copenhagen's failure his new think tank - The Global Warming Policy Forum - proposed a 'Plan B' that would revisit climate change science, end UK unilateralism on emissions and would pursue policies that would enrich rather than handicap the developing world. The famously unassailable Chancellor may have been wrong about the ERM but he's on the money on climate change.

Posted at 07:41 in Big Beasts, Constitution and democracy, Environment, Picks of the Year, Videos | Permalink | Comments (14)