Baroness Joyce Anelay is joining the Shadow Cabinet as the Opposition Chief Whip in the Lords when Lord Cope retires on 27th July.
Baroness Anelay has long been active in the Conservative Party, serving as Chairman of the Conservative Woman's National Committee from 1993-96 and as Vice-President of the National Union 1996-97. Made a life peer in 1996 she is one of the last people who will make it to the (Shadow) Cabinet having worked their way to the very top of the voluntary party.
Before being appointed a life peer she had worked as a history teacher and volunteered at Woking Citizens' Advice Bureau (she is now its President) was a Justice of the Peace in North West Surrey and sat on Social Security Appeal Tribunals for 13 years.
In the Lords Baroness Anelay has served as an Opposition Whip on Home Affairs, Social Security and Agriculture; Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture; and Opposition Spokesman for Culture, Media and Sport and, since 2002 Shadow Minister for Home Affairs.
In comments elsewhere on the site former CCHQ Adviser Tom Greeves has said:
"Joyce was on the Culture, Media and Sport team when I was at CCO, and she is quite outstanding. She is a master of detail, a shrewd analyst, and a team player. She's also highly personable, and although this isn't an obvious media role, I think DC would be well advised to get her on the TV as much as possible."
I was a colleague of Joyce's too, at MAFF and DCMS, and would agree with everything Tom has said. She will be a real asset to the Shadow Cabinet.
Andrew Burkinshaw
How nice then it would have been had she been appointed because of all that merit, instead of despite it. Is there a single person out there who doesn't believe Dave's promoting Lady Anelay solely because it means he can weakly trumpet, "one more woman in the shadow cabinet!"?
Posted by: ACT | July 03, 2007 at 14:31
Seeing Baroness Anelay in the Shadow Cabinet is fantastic. She is a diligent, charasmatic and intelligent woman and will give some of her colleagues a run for their money.
Posted by: Kitty Harper | July 03, 2007 at 14:34
I think what Andrew is trying to say ACT is that she may be at least one woman promoted who clearly deserves to sit with the rest of the shadow cabinet.
Posted by: Jennifer Wells | July 03, 2007 at 14:35
So that's a 'No' then? There's not one single person who thinks Lady Anelay's in because of that list of her many talents (none of which I for one minute doubt), but in fact she's in because it means Cameron can engage in yet another wan, me-too piece of PC? This is exactly what's so corrosive, for women, and of course for the disabled, and ethnic and religious minorities, when it comes to 'employers' doling out jobs on tokenistic PC grounds. With the A List, Cameron is a proven discriminator on PC grounds, and as a result, it's now impossible not to suspect his motives when it comes to appointments like this.
Posted by: ACT | July 03, 2007 at 14:55
She sounds like a safe pair of hands. Good luck to her.
Posted by: Justin Hinchcliffe | July 03, 2007 at 15:00
Joyce Anelay has a long and distinguished record in the Party and certainly is being promoted on merit!
Posted by: Sally Roberts | July 03, 2007 at 15:23
Looking at it from the inside, she's there on merit.
Posted by: Ralph Lucas | July 03, 2007 at 15:53
ACT
Are you sure you're not saying all this because you don't want to believe she's being promoted on merit? You certainly appear to have made your mind up as soon as you heard about it.
Posted by: Raj | July 03, 2007 at 15:58
Baroness WHO?
Posted by: Tory fightback | July 03, 2007 at 16:07
I believe she's merit-laden, okay? What I also believe is that Cameron is no longer worthy of our trust, as to whether *he* appoints anyone to anything on the basis of their individual merits. Swire, for example, didn't deserve to be sacked, but was, simply because Dave had to protect himself, and so threw one OE bone to the dogs.
Posted by: ACT | July 03, 2007 at 16:16
ACT
I believe she's merit-laden, okay?
No one said you didn't. The problem is you're so jaded you can't believe she was appointed because she's the right person for the job.
You can think that way, but many other people will be more open-minded.
Posted by: Raj | July 03, 2007 at 16:44
ACT is missing the point. Also v surprised he thinks Swire has more merit than Lady Anelay. All I'd say is what's more important - postponing ID cards or fiddling around with casinos.
The bottom line is Lady Anelay is an absolute star player. And has been as Shadow Home Office minister, as well as a minister and shadow minister on other briefs in the Lords for years.
There has been no overlooking of talent. This is simply a case of outstanding merit well rewarded.
Good on DC I say.
Posted by: order order | July 03, 2007 at 17:31
ACT is a Labour mole, troll, sockpuppet or just a plain old tw*t.
I'd take no notice of this nerd.
Posted by: Graham Checker | July 04, 2007 at 08:51
So low abuse then, and no one at all prepared to assert that a tyro peer rather than an old lag (ie exactly the sort of politician normally deemed best for chief whip in either house) is truly ther eon merit, as opposed to Dave's need to claim one more woman in the shadow cabinet for the PC sake of being able to claim one more woman?
Posted by: ACT | July 05, 2007 at 13:41