MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Ahead of Scotland referendum and 2015 election Cameron reshuffles cabinet
Deputy PM Nick Clegg: “we need to draw on different experience in the final year running up to the referendum”. British Prime Minister David Cameron has kicked off a coalition reshuffle, with Scottish Secretary Michael Moore among the casualties. The Liberal Democrat's Cabinet post is being taken by the party's chief whip Alistair Carmichael, just a year before the crucial referendum on independence north of the border.
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, the Lib Dem leader, said the British government needed to “draw on different experience in the final year running up to the referendum”.
The British government is pushing for a “no” vote in Scotland's referendum on whether to split from the rest of the United Kingdom, which will be held on September 18 next year. Carmichael is widely seen as more combative than Moore and his appointment was welcomed by the “no” camp.
Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, the Scottish National Party leader, is heading up the “yes” campaign. Around a third of voters in Scotland are currently in favor of breaking away, according to opinion polls.
Moore is the only member of the cabinet -- comprising Cameron and his 21 most senior ministers -- to be affected by the Conservative premier's second reshuffle since he came to power in May 2010, but the shake-up has led to widespread changes at the lower levels of government.
Cameron told ITV's The Agenda program that the reshuffle was “an opportunity to bring forward some fresh talent”.
“The main thing is: are they qualified to do the job and I think they will prove that,” he added.
The most surprising move was that of Liberal Democrat Norman Baker from the Department for Transport to the Home Office. Baker once claimed that David Kelly, the government scientist who questioned the evidence used to justify the Iraq War, was murdered and that the security services staged a cover-up.
The shake-up is expected to see women and northern MPs promoted to more senior posts as the Prime Minister gears up for the 2015 election. No further changes are due to the Cabinet.
The reshuffle began on Friday with the resignation of junior transport minister Simon Burns, followed by two other resignations by members of the government on Sunday.
It continued Monday as Cameron named the first new ministers filling vacated jobs.
Both Cameron and Clegg are seeking to freshen up their top teams ahead of a general election in May 2015.
Among other changes Tory Esther McVey has been pushed up the ranks at the Department for Work and Pensions to become employment minister, while Greg Hands - a close ally of Chancellor George Osborne - has been made deputy chief whip for the Conservatives.
Greg Clark has been moved from the Treasury to take on responsibilities for cities and constitutional reform at the Cabinet Office, and former Northern Ireland minister Mike Penning becomes a minister at Work and Pensions.
Hugh Robertson moves to Foreign Office while Andrew Robathan goes to Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, Labour leader Ed Miliband is also preparing to make changes to his top team.
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Read all commentsNorth of the border? What border?
Oct 08th, 2013 - 01:45 am 0I find it funny the English say 33% is “really bad”. Not at all. That's 33% that want to break away no matter what. Of the 55% or whatever it is that are right now in the “no”, be assured that probably half of those would WANT independence, but are just a bit scared of it. Half of 55% is 27% which means well more than half of Scotland would break away. If things were so great, you would think 80% of people at least would be opposed.
So much for the long awaited disintegration of Argentina by the Brits (been waiting for 150 years now). It seems someone else is at risk of disintegrating!
if if if ...
Oct 08th, 2013 - 01:57 am 0quite a string of circumstance.
keep dreaming
...it's all you have
:-)
Actually, I have to admit that I’m pretty disgusted actually by these Scotts … I’m following the Catalans case in Spain, those folk are continually ripped off by Madrid, they form kilometric human chains and they go to the streets in millions to call for a referendum and independence. Madrid ignores them and continually robs them. They really have endured years of unfairness and strived to see their culture survive. They really do want to work hard and be free.
Oct 08th, 2013 - 02:37 am 0The Scotts on the other hand get free university, subsidies, etc and even London has given them the chance of a referendum on independence it has come all legall and through the ballot box… And yet the whole debate is focused on about how will it benefit or make things worse for the Scottish economy and what the Scottish society can actually get out of it, they think they can retain the pound, be in the Eurozone at the same time, expel the nuclear facilities of Scotland but be covered by NATO and a long list of I want this I want that.
I just don’t get it. Peoples around the world have bled themselves to death to be free and continue to do so... What seems to me is that it’s not really about expressing their culture and country at all like all. They could not care less, it’s about money and if it’s better for them or not… As far as I know the south of the border is very happy to see them go, and I don’t blame them… The problem is that Westminster doesn’t.
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