Year2(6): Swap Hague and Osborne

Recommendation 6: George Osborne’s pro-American, Eurosceptic and hawkish views will make him an ideal Foreign Secretary.  If Hague can become full-time after his much-anticipated Wilberforce book is finished he’ll be a reassuring Shadow Chancellor opposite Brown's likely successor, Alistair Darling.

Comments

[Graeme Archer]

Swap them for what? Oh, I see...

[Scotty]

I think that Hague and Osborne are in the right jobs now, why "fix" something which is not broken?
Osborne is well settled in as shadow chancellor and I think that it would be a mistake to start moving senior shadow cabinet ministers around as the new boys and girls arrive in a Brown Cabinet. You do that and you undermine your own team and give the impression that it needs to be "improved" before the Brown's appointments have even got their feet under the table.

[Daniel VA]

"George Osborne’s pro-American, Eurosceptic and hawkish views will make him an ideal Foreign Secretary."

Editor, have you considered a career in stand-up? If Charlotte Church can win a British Comedy Award, a gag like that should make you a surefire winner!

Seriously though, the last thing we need after the bungled foreign policy adventures this country has subserviently followed the US into in recent years is a Foreign Secretary with 'hawkish views'.

[Umbrella Man]

Through no fault of his own George Osborne just looks too young to be put in charge of the nation's finances. I'm not sure about Hague as his replacement though. Hague has to start being more like a full-time frontbencher before he merits the job.

[George Hinton]

Well, the caravanning Beckett is surely no opposition, totally out of her depth and playing second fiddle to B-Liar.
As for Darling, he might not have had the full lobotomy, but he is an apparatchik who doglike follows his masters line.
Surely anyone can take these non-entities on.

[Jon Gale]

Agree with Scotty, we want to have the more familar, experienced Cabinet, not mirror the perpetual merry-go-round on the Labour side.

The public are probably just starting to recognise Davis, Hague, Osborne and their roles.

[Gareth]

I'd favour this not because Osborne apparently shares the bonkers world view that has got us into the mess we're in Iraq but because I think the party leadership suffers from inbalance, in having two young and relatively inexperienced people in its most politically important positions. Hague has more experience and gravitas than Osborne and, for that reason only, I'd favour this swap.

[Old Hack]

Firstly, I'd promote Liam Fox to the Foreign Sec job. He's doing better than Hague and has more of a future.

Secondly, and this is entirely wishful thinking I confess, John Redwood for Shadow Chancellor.

[malcolm]

I don't think this is a good idea Tim as you'd expect.In general I'm in favour of keeping all Shadow ministers in their current roles as long as possible to help them grow their expertise in each area unless they are obviously failing.Having said that though,it is one of my greatest disappointments that so many members of the shadow cabinet have been so quiet in the past year. I sincerely hope that Cameron doesn't try to emulate Mrs Thatcher and Blair and build a cult of personality at the expense of other members of the front bench. Unlike Labour,we have some pretty talented people in our team but the general public are I expect unaware of it.

[Tory Loyalist]

I think it's a superb idea. Osborne certainly isn't up to the job of Shadow Chancellor, and Hague would be excellent.

As Foreign Secretary Osborne would have ample opportunity to display his "far right" rabid neo-con credentials. That way everybody would learn that this man really is absolutely awful right across the board.

A few months of Atlanticist warmongering should knock Sonny Jim on the head for good. He could go back to selling carpets or whatever else it is his family do best.

[TomTom]

Be good to have a Foreign Secretary with a degree in History and a Chancellor who does not believe he should be Leader

[gingeral]

How about melding 5 and 6, with Fox moving from Defence to Foreign Sec, Hague moving to Chancellor, Osborne to Party Chairman and Maude to Defence?

[TomTom]

Maude to Defence?

Yes that'll show the military what you think of them............maybe Theresa May or Oliver Letwin................no reason not to make one of the weaker portfolios look even more risible

[Praguetory]

This sort of thing has been called for from certain quarters for some time. My only question is whether George has the capacity for FM. Maybe.

[Goldie]

It seems pretty obvious to me that Cameron is just having to work with an incredibly weak frontbench. It's the result mostly of the dismal results in 2001 and 1997.

Osborne may one day develop into a mature, serious politician, but for the next 5 years he will come across as a public school boy playing a politician. Hague isn't particularly well-liked in the country, but at least he's become somewhat of an adult.

It's a big problem that there aren't enough adults on the Tory front bench. It's good to see that David Davis has been willing to accept his personal disappointments and continue to serve.