Government Affairs Blog

"No Darling, It is Balls"

Unless something unexpected happens, 2007 will see Tony Blair stand down as Prime Minister.  It is also considered to be almost definite that Gordon Brown will become the next leader of the Labour party and Britain’s primus inter pares. 

This certainty about who will govern the country next is unprecedented in British politics.  That has not stopped commentators from speculating on what will happen next.  If Gordon Brown does get the top job there will undoubtedly be change.  The Chancellor has discussed making the NHS independent and most journalists think he will complete reform of the House of Lords.  

Will Hutton has argued in The Observer - http://observer.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1962743,00.html - that Brown intends to abolish the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) and divide up Treasury responsibility between two departments: a ministry of economy, trade and productivity and a ministry of finance.  Hutton thinks Alistair Darling will lead the former and Ed Balls the latter.

In other papers Darling has been tipped as the next Chancellor of the Exchequer but in recent months Balls has also been seriously discussed. The conversation between Brown and the now Minister of the DTI can be imagined as being out of Blackadder: “No Darling, it is Balls.”

As well as having a character called Darling the writers of that sitcom (Elton and Curtis) also created a Lord Melchett who turned out to be a real person committed to environmental campaigning.  One can only hope that somewhere a real Blackadder and Baldrick will enter the political arena.

And on that note it leaves me to say on behalf of the Government Affairs Group executive that we wish all the readers of this blog a happy Christmas and a very prosperous and enjoyable new year.

Normal service will resume in January 2007.