First we had a ‘Government of all the Talents’ and now we have an ‘Opposition of all the Talents’ following Kate Hoey’s decision to agree to work with Boris Johnson, should he be elected.
Kate Hoey is in fact at least consistent. Unlike members of the Government, who used to take the same view, Ms Hoey has always believed that Ken Livingstone is unfit to be Mayor of London. So, if she does have the Whip taken away from her, it will be for merely holding views that many in the Labour party held, until it was politically inconvenient to do so.
Moreover, how can she be punished for becoming an ‘Oat’, when Gordon Brown was quick to recruit ‘Goats’ into his Government, when it was thought there would be an election. What will be interesting to observe is the post Thursday scenario: Will there be more Labour figures tempted to become Oats as well? Perhaps some of the existing ‘Goats’ like Digby Jones and Lord West, might realise the error of their ways and metamorphose into an Oat?
If it emerges that Gordon Brown and the Chancellor have been ‘economical with the truth’ with Frank Field over the 10p tax reversal compensation scheme, will he be tempted to join his long time friend and ally, the MP for Vauxhall? Only time will tell.
