Edit: Ignore the post from David icke obviously...
...
Anyway, among the Truther infighting I found
this which sounds reasonably conclusive.
The reshuffle forming up now.Gove out of education will be welcome news to many teachers. I don't know about their plans to put him in front of cameras more often though. The background role of a whip might be more useful for the party as a whole, although he will want the publicity personally to help launch any future leadership bids. His
replacement is relatively unknown, but has the honour of being an equalities minister who opposes gay marriage. So there's that.
Elizabeth Truss is an interesting character. Grew up in very left wing family, was a Lib Dem at university (president of Oxford Lib Dems) then joined the Tories. Seems to be a rather libertarian minded reformist (past deputy-direct of
Reform), with an emphasis on social mobility. Not sure about putting her in the environment role, although generally it serves more as a stepping stone for upwardly mobile party figures rather than an actual position in itself. Her pro-science/maths views might have made her popular with certain groups in a more senior education role, but I'm less certain. The reforms she tried to promote herself were loved by business but opposed by actual childcare bodies and ended up being blocked by Nick Clegg.
Jeremy Wright as AG is hard to say. On one hand he seemed to be the one at the MoJ with the most legal experience and
softest touch. On the other hand he was the only one at the MoJ with legal experience and a soft touch. And on that note;
Chris Grayling staying in his position is an insult. He's pushed through the horrific legal reforms and shown an utter lack of understanding of the law. To quote the always irreverent
Charon QC;
I talk of no other than Lord Chancellor Grayling, a man of vision who made his long walk to freedom from obscurity to hold one of the highest offices of state in the land: Lord Chancellor - the first non-lawyer to serve as Lord Chancellor since the Earl of Shaftesbury in 1672-3. It did not end well for The Earl of Shaftesbury, it has to be said – although charges of High Treason were dropped and Shaftesbury fled to Amsterdam, fell ill, and soon died. But, be that as it may.
That from when people were mocking his expenses claims.
Michael Fallon to defence is a meh. Not someone to my taste, but a relatively old hand and likely reliable in that position. Seems to have Eurosceptic tendencies but don't know if that's a drawback in the defence role or not. Guess it depends what happens with EU negotiations in the next couple of years.
Stephen Crabb is the first Conservative minister since 1901 to wear a beard.
Anyway, new secretary of state for Wales. Looks like his focus is mostly international relations, human rights and development. Also welfare reform, which generally means screw the poor.
Mark Harper is back. He resigned as an immigration minister over accusations he was employing an illegal immigrate as a cleaner. This after running one of the nastier anti-immigration campaigns not run by an openly fascist group in the UK. Seriously, Farage called it nasty. He is now at the Department for Work and Pensions under Ian Duncan Smith.
And speaking of, none of the other names at the top are moving. IDS, Osborne, May and Hunt all keep their positions.
EDIT: Still coming in.
Nick Boles gets a specific remit to implement gay marriage rules. Currently in a civil partnership himself, we will have an openly gay man putting same-sex marriage laws into practice in more ways than one. Also something of a hardliner when it comes to welfare and related topics, which is less attractive.
Alan Duncan, on the other hand, is gone. The first openly gay Conservative MP, he was also considered very liberal and progressive for the party. He then had a failed leadership bid and got absolutely slaughtered during the expenses scandal. I went to find the HIGNY segment that murdered his upward mobility, only to find it was
hosted by Rolf Harris... So there's that.
The Spectator is reporting that
Liam Fox has turned down a job at the Foreign Office, albeit at a relatively junior level to his past roles. Interesting development to say the least. Looked like Cameron fucked up.