http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10977806
This will certainly raise a few eyebrows, following the appointment of former Labour ministers Frank Field and John Hutton as advisors on welfare reform and the fight against poverty.
What does it say about this new Coalition?
I would say that it's an attempt to prove that they're genuinely wanting to move away from 'tribal' politics and if people have real input and expertise to offer it will be embraced.
ReplyDeleteMilburn was always a pragmatic centrist politician and is no more a strange bedfellow than some of the left side of the Lib Dems.
I would certainly agree that those Labour MPs who have agreed to work with the Coalition - Frank Field, John Hutton and now Alan Milburn - are not from the traditional 'Old Labour' mould and could easily sit comfortably on the Lib Dem benches.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I'm not sure that Cameron really wants 'to move away from 'tribal' politics' as you put it. He is your typical One Nation Tory, through and through. Having to work with other parties is a situation that has been forced upon
him because the Conservatives didn't manage to get a majority in the House of Commons. Cameron has no choice but to appear to be all things to all men. And in any case, I think bringing Milburn on board was Clegg's idea - not his.