It may usually be wrong to smile when you hear that someone has had to resign from their job, but I think that Peter Hain’s resignation from the Cabinety today is the exception to the rule. Why?
Firstly, he is still a member of parliament earning a decent salary so it is not as if he and his family are going to be hard up.
Secondly, he was to my mind the most arrogant Secretary of State Norn Iron has ever had who seemed to view the Province as his own personal fiefdom (nice feudal reference there). Did ever a man in such a role seem to care less about what the people living here actually wanted?
Thirdly, he sold out his obviously deeply held socialist principles faster than you can answer the question ‘Who wants to be in power?’ He marched against nuclear power in his youth, so how did he feel able to remain part of a government proposing to build x many more nuclear power stations?
Fourthly, how can a man who is Secretary of State for Wales and was Secretary of State for Norn Iron (two areas not noted for good weather) have such a permanent tan? David ‘the Duke’ Dickinson has nothing on him.
twobigyellowcranes 
who have been your fav / most effective S of States in the last 20 years?
do unionists not traditionaly hate and despise any Sec of State 5-10 mins after they arrive and call for their resignation? 🙂
By: qmonkey on 25 January 08
at 1:38 pm
Unionist politicians might, but as a unionist with a very small, almost-impossible-to-spot ‘u’, I haven’t.
Mo Mowlem was the only other one I was really getting sick of by the end, but you cannot take away what she achieved (I was primarily getting fed up with her continually pointing out how she was ruffling some feathers and challenging the establishment – fine to do, but don’t tell us all about it).
In terms of who has been most effective, Mowlam for the reasons above. Mandelson is hard to take on many levels, but did his job really well. The one who gets no credit for all the hard work he did was Peter Mayhew (ditto for John Major, whose role in the peace process has been neatly written out by New Labour). May have been an upper class English toff, but really worked hard (shame about his ill-timed song on The Late, Late Show).
I don’t recall a Sec of State before Hain who was quite as willing to act as a de facto First Minister by virtue of holding a fairly minor post in government.
By: twobigyellowcranes on 25 January 08
at 11:48 pm
was it not paddy mayhew (or was it an honary ‘paddy’)… you’re right… Major/Mayhew were the ones who took the real – out on a limb – risks.
By: QMonkey on 27 January 08
at 7:08 pm
You’re right – I think I may have been thinking of the actor that played Chewbecca when I typed that.
Paul Murphy was another decent one.
By: twobigyellowcranes on 27 January 08
at 11:10 pm