Danny, I Fink You're Wrong

I'm a little mystified by THIS post on Danny Finkelstein's Comment Central blog. He takes me to task for my POST criticisng Gordon Brown for appointing Colin Challen MP to the Stern Committee, thereby freeing up Challen's seat for Brown's crony Ed Balls. Danny argues...

I must say I am baffled by this response. The moment Challen announced
he was standing down it was obvious he'd been offered something, and membership
of a climate change panel is hardly a huge inducement. This is just
politics and there's nothing wrong with it at all. It's ridiculous for Tories to
pretend that they wouldn't do such things in office.

So that's alright then. This line of argument debases politics. I am quite shocked to see Danny take this line. I wrote in his comments: "Your response illustrates why people have such a low regard for politicians. If this is considered the "norm" then it is going to take a new generation to clean up the system. The fact that all parties have been known to do such things does not make it right."

So who do you Fink is right?

UPDATE: Danny has responded with a post titled THE BLOG SPAT IS ON. He says:

Iain suggests that Gordon Brown's behaviour and my cynical acceptance of it
is the sort of thing that puts people off politics. Let me put an alternative
point - blowing up trivial and perfectly sensible political moves into
pseudo-scandals and going on about them is what puts people off politics.

With that sort of logic the Opposition parties should just let the government get away with any example of sleaze and say "oh, don't worry old boy, we don't mind because we'll be just as unethical as you." Surely we need to get away from this sort of thinking?

UPDATE: This whole saga will be covered by David Grossman on Newsnight tonight, according to Ellee Seymour. She knows these things.

Gordon Proves He's As Good At Cronyism As Tony

Now it's not often I just reprint a Tory Party press release, but I can't really add to its content...

At a Treasury Select Committee hearing today, Sir Nicholas Stern revealed that it was Gordon Brown who appointed Labour MP Colin Challen to a high profile climate change taskforce – clearing the way for Brown’s close ally Ed Balls to stand unopposed for the new Morley and Outwood seat. Responding to a question from David Gauke MP, Sir Nicholas also admitted that he’d had no prior knowledge of the appointment until the Chancellor informed him he’d be working with Challen.

Commenting, Chris Grayling said:

“This is yet more evidence of Gordon Brown’s blatant cronyism. Only two months ago, Colin Challen was adamant he’d be standing against Ed Balls for the Labour candidacy for the new Morley and Outwood constituency. Less than two months later Challen had changed his mind, clearing the way for Brown’s closest crony to get a safe seat. Now we know why – Gordon Brown had given him a plum job in a high profile climate change taskforce. This is unacceptable behaviour for a man who would be Prime Minister.”

NOTES TO EDITORS
· Under the Boundary Commission’s review of Parliamentary boundaries, Ed Balls’ seat of Normanton will disappear. Outwood, which was formerly part of Normanton, will be merged with Morley, which was formerly part of the Morley and Rotherwell seat, to create a new seat of Morley and Outwood.
· The majority of the new Morley and Outwood seat is made up of areas previously in Morley and Rotherwell. The sitting MP for Morley and Rotherwell, Colin Challen, who has served just one full term, had always maintained that he would fight for the new seat. But today, Colin Challen announced that he will be standing down as an MP at the next election (PA News, 30 January 2007)
· Ed Balls has insisted that he will stand for the seat, telling the Wakefield Express: ‘That is what I intend to do’ (Wakefield Express, 6 November 2006).
· In November 2006, Colin Challen asserted that he would be fighting Ed Balls for the candidacy for the new Morley and Outwood constituency:
‘I shall be seeking to be re-elected as the Labour candidate - if I were successful I would be representing a seat that contains two thirds of my existing seat’ (Wakefield Express, 6 November 2006).

· However, just two months later, he announced his decision to withdraw from the race, citing his appointment to a leading role in Labour's climate change agenda:

"I have become so involved in climate change now, especially in the last six months, that I want to find new opportunities in that area. I have found those now."

"I expect shortly to be involved in further practical work to speed those changes, particularly in the developing world - notably Africa - and to further examine the economics of climate change following the report last year from Sir Nick Stern, with whom I shall be working."


Full (uncorrected) transcript of Nick Stern’s admission:

David Gauke MP
“Was it [Colin Challen] the Chancellor’s appointment, do you know?”

Nick Stern
“The Chancellor asked me personally if I would be interested in doing this and I said that I am.”

David Gauke MP
“But Colin Challen as well – was that the Chancellor’s appointment?”

Nick Stern
“Yes – I learned about it from the Chancellor and I thought it would be a good idea.”

David Gauke MP
“I understand that Colin Challen is going to be working closely with you on climate change issues, and I’m just interested to learn when you learned of that appointment, and precisely what you will be doing together.”

Nick Stern
“My understanding is that, err, we’ll be looking at some ideas on how economists and Parliamentarians can talk to each other. Colin and I haven’t had the chance to get together and work out the details, but I must say I’m very happy to do it.”