May. 7th, 2006
Farewell, Jack Straw
May. 7th, 2006 01:24 pmAs the non-UK folk reading this may or may not be aware, we had local elections last Thursday. Nothing that directly affects Tony Blair or his MPs - but poor results are still seen as a clear warning shot, a sign that if they don't change something they'll get hammered in the next general election.
Early the next morning, Tony Blair was already hard at work making changes - sacking ministers who'd lost public confidence and "rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic" (...and where's Stephen Colbert when you need him, hmm? :)
One of the more surprising changes was the demotion of Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary. The Guardian has some views on just why this happened...
Early the next morning, Tony Blair was already hard at work making changes - sacking ministers who'd lost public confidence and "rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic" (...and where's Stephen Colbert when you need him, hmm? :)
One of the more surprising changes was the demotion of Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary. The Guardian has some views on just why this happened...
Mr Straw has said repeatedly that it is "inconceivable" that there will be a military strike on Iran and last month dismissed as "nuts" a report that George Bush was keeping on the table the option of using tactical nuclear weapons against Tehran's nuclear plants.Eeek. No further comment....
His fate was sealed when the White House called Mr Blair and asked why the foreign secretary kept saying these things.