Midlands promoted to front lines of Brown’s ‘war government’

Oct 7 2008 Agenda

As the dust settles down following Gordon Brown’s reshuffle, Political Editor Jonathan Walker says the Prime Minister has turned to West Midlands ministers to help to revive his Government.

Gordon Brown has promoted a range of West Midlands MPs to his “war government” designed to see Britain through the global financial downturn.

Many of the appointments from the region, announced in the reshuffle, will be directly involved in dealing with the effects of the credit crunch and rising prices, including energy costs.

Dudley South MP Ian Pearson will oversee the Government’s crucial Banking Bill in his new role as Economic Secretary to the Treasury, when it comes to the House of Commons today.

The post of Economic Secretary is usually seen as a junior position in the Treasury, but it has taken on extra significance during the current economic uncertainty because it is the post responsible for banking and finance, reporting to the Chancellor.

The Banking Bill will raise the level of savings guaranteed by law from £35,000 to £50,000, in an attempt to boost consumer confidence in Britain’s banking system. It will also make it easier for the Government to intervene when banks run into trouble.

Mr Pearson, who was previously a Minister in the Department of Science and Innovation, said: “This is an exciting and challenging time to be in HM Treasury, and there is nothing more important than acting to bring about financial stability in the banking system.”

The MP will have an office in the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform as well as the Treasury.

Fellow Black Country MP Pat McFadden (Lab Wolverhampton South West) becomes the most senior Commons Minister in the Business Department.

As deputy to new Business Secretary Peter Mandelson, who will sit in the House of Lords, Mr McFadden will take the lead in answering questions and making statements for his department in the House of Commons.

He can expect to take flack from the Conservatives, who say they are angry that the Secretary of State will sit in the upper House where he will be harder to hold to account.

Mr McFadden joined the department as a Minister last year, with responsibility for employment law and post offices.

Warwickshire North MP Mike O’Brien becomes a Minister of State in the new Department of Energy and Climate Change, second on the ladder behind Secretary of State Ed Miliband.

Although the department is partly concerned with environmental issues, as the name implies, the creation of a separate ministry dealing with energy is a response to increased concern about the rising cost of fuel, and the need to secure energy supplies as developing countries such as China consume more oil and gas. Mr O’Brien, previously the minister responsible for pensions, will help oversee plans for new nuclear power stations.

The new department’s lead Minister in the House of Lords will be Lord Hunt of Kings Heath, a former senior manager in the NHS and Birmingham councillor.

Birmingham MP Sion Simon (Lab Erdington) also becomes involved in the Government’s economic strategy as a junior Minister in the Department for Skills, Innovation, Universities and Science.

It will be his first ministerial role, and the position is not paid. Most ministers receive from £30,280 to £76,904, for a Cabinet job, on top of the standard MP’s salary of £61,820.

Mr Simon’s elevation to ministerial level has raised eyebrows, as he was one of the MPs who hatched a plot to force Tony Blair out of office in 2006, paving the way for Mr Brown to take over last year.

There were new appointments for a number of other region’s MPs.

As we reported yesterday, Ian Austin (Lab Dudley North) is the new Minister for the West Midlands, replacing Liam Byrne (Lab Hodge Hill). Mr Austin also becomes a whip, but has lost his role as Gordon Brown’s Parliamentary Private Secretary. His removal from the Downing Street inner circle marks a change in the Prime Minister’s strategy for dealing with the media and his own MPs, which has also seen Damian McBride, previously the Prime Minister’s communications advisor, moved to a low-profile role.

It emerged yesterday that Stourbridge MP Lynda Waltho is to become Deputy Minister for the West Midlands. This appears to be an informal role, as the post does not appear on the official list of ministerial appointments approved by the Queen, but Ms Waltho said she had been personally appointed by Gordon Brown, who phoned her on Sunday afternoon.

She said: “I was very surprised to get a call from the Prime Minister, let alone one offering me such an important role. The West Midlands Region is a most important region and has many challenges. I hope that I will be able to continue the good work that my colleague, Liam Byrne began as the first Minister for the Region and very much see my role as championing the Region as a whole at the heart of Government.”

Mike Foster (Lab Worcester), previously a junior whip, becomes a Minister in the Department for International Development. Coventry North East MP Bob Ainsworth keeps his job as a Defence Minister, while Tom Watson (West Bromwich West) stays in the Cabinet Office. He will also continue his role advising the Prime Minister on political strategy and campaigns.

Experienced Black Country MP John Spellar (Warley), a former Transport Minister, rejoins the Government as a whip, where he joins Birmingham MP Steve McCabe (Hall Green) and Mr Austin.

Mr Brown announced on Friday that Redditch MP Jacqui Smith would remain Home Secretary, while Birmingham Hodge Hill MP Liam Byrne becomes head of the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. He will attend Cabinet, although he won’t formally be a member of it.

Despite being replaced as Minister for the West Midlands following his promotion, Mr Byrne keeps a regional role as he will chair a new Regional Economic Council, including the regional ministers such as Mr Austin. This will work in partnership with the national economic council set up by Gordon Brown to sort out the economy.

The reshuffle was bad news for James Plaskitt (Lab Warwick & Leamington), a former Work and Pensions Minister who leaves the Government, and Lord Rooker of Perry Barr, the former MP, who lost his role as an Environment Minister. As expected, Lord Jones of Birmingham also quit his job as a Trade Minister.

But the general direction of travel for West Midlands MPs was up. With two MPs around the Cabinet table and a number at the top of the second tier of Government, the region is better represented than it has been in years.