Not Fit For The Purpose

No, no, not the Home Office. I'm talking about John Reid. And it isn't so much that he is not fit for the purpose, but rather I cannot work out what his purpose is.

This is the man who sometimes calls himself Dr John Reid. His Phd? In Economic History, with a particular bent towards Marxism. Which kind of makes sense, since Reid was a member of the Communist Party (which, according to Wikipedia, he joined at the age of 26). No doubt he is a man of his convictions, since he is now so communist that he has become a fascist home secretary of the most right wing Labour government in history. You can't help but respect someone with deep rooted political convictions, who fights for them at all costs. Which is one of the reasons why I have no respect for Reid whatsoever.

And Reid is the man who has famously held seven cabinet posts in seven years. Where I work, someone who has had seven jobs in seven years is, more than likely, written off as a failure, not given increasingly senior appointments. I guess Reid must have a detailed record of success in all of his roles. Oh, wait, no. The opposite is true. Secretary of State for Scotland - a part of this country that now wants to leave the United Kingdom. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, where his contribution to the peace process was *precisely* nothing. Labour Party Chairman - clearly laid the groundwork well for the present chipmunked face retard to drive the party into the ground, with ever diminishing membership numbers and a financial crisis that has forced the Labour Party to turn to crime to pay its’ way. Leader of the House of Commons – oh, good, a position that is normally seen as a demotion (Cook, Straw). Secretary of State for Health – hmmm, that may be part of the reason why the NHS is in utter crisis. And interestingly, as Health Secretary, Reid opposed the one positive step (for health anyway – the civil liberties argument is another issue entirely) that Nu Labour have made for health- the smoking ban. Secretary of State for Defence – must be proud of this one, given how poorly equipped and over-stretched the British Army is in Iraq and Afghanistan. And now, as Home Secretary, he seems to have adopted the strategy of blaming just about anyone else for the problems of the Home Office rather than him. God forbid that he should actually take some responsibility for the department he is currently running… As Reactionary Snob points out, it can only be a matter of time before he blames the previous Tory governments for the latest calamity to befall his department.

Reid is spoken of as a troubleshooter – a roving minister who can go into failing departments (which is just about every department under Nu Labour) and turn them round. I have no idea where this reputation comes from but it does not seem to be based on reality at all. Reid is just a bully – a borderline thug who uses his alpha male and pseudo-macho tendencies to intimidate those around him into thinking he is doing a good job. If Blair had an ounce of courage about him he would sit down, assess how little Reid has ever managed to achieve, and then sack him. But I guess wishing for courage from the spineless weasel running this country is like wishing for snow at Christmas – never going to fucking happen. This is the only reason why we should be wishing for Prime Minister Brown is that he will almost certainly sack Reid and condemn him to the fate he so richly deserves – stomping around the back benches like the third rate, over the hill, strip club bouncer he so closely resembles.

John Reid – totally and utterly fucking pointless.