May 28, 2002

10:42 AM

Stephen Byers resigns(finally). Here is a profile of the man. Do politicians have to fall into the same pattern everytime something like this happens? Press: You've done something wrong. Politician: No I haven't. I'll admit to no impropriety on my part. Prime Minister: I'll stand by my minister. Press: But we can prove he did something wrong. The Public: I'll go with what they say, and he should resign. Prime Minister: Look mate, it's about the voters. Politician: I still don't believe I've got anything to hide but save the government embarassment, I'll resign.
posted by feelinglistless (7 comments total)

Does it always have to fall into that pattern? No.
posted by rcade at 10:50 AM on May 28, 2002

The Labour Government.... ooooooh, don't get me started. I'd like to walk up to Tony Blair and shake him warmly by the windpipe.
posted by wibbler at 10:56 AM on May 28, 2002

Byers has got to be the most anodyne and characterless person ever to have held high office. Will he be missed? how could he be missed? He is an empty suit.
I heard some of his press conference and he seemed very bitter and said he wished to be remembered for his achievments (which he went on to list) rather than a couple of errors of judgement.
The thought that crossed my mind, apart from the fact he seemed inordinately proud of his bureaucratic achievements, was who cares? who could care? Poor old Steve hasn't grasped it yet. He won't be remembered for anything.
posted by Fat Buddha at 11:55 AM on May 28, 2002

Byers managed to do something amazing: turn a guaranteed winner with the voters -- taking Railtrack back into public ownership -- into a chronicle of embarrassments. He made even the greedy corporate bastards look good, with their demands for 'proper' compensation for turning subsidies into dividends since privatisation.

Trouble is, the new minister will probably have exactly the poison chalice that Byers unexpectedly and unenthusiastically inherited (Jack Straw should have got the Transport portfolio in the last reshuffle) without any of the experience. Which is back to square one. At least, you'd hope, John Birt will get kicked out of his 'blue sky' transport job and told to find some real work.

Says something, though, that one of the Blairite Geordie Mafia (Milburn, Byers) has gone. Gordon must be cracking open the Sainsbury's fizz.
posted by riviera at 12:23 PM on May 28, 2002

riviera: Indeed, altho' Noo Labour has to care about 'greedy corporate bastards' too these days otherwise they won't get any money in the future...

...of course if Thatcher had done what the Norwegians did & put some North Sea oil revenue into the transport system in the first place, we might not be in such a sorry state...
posted by i_cola at 12:46 PM on May 28, 2002

For a second there, I thought the link was saying that Stephen Breyers had resigned.
posted by mmascolino at 3:08 PM on May 28, 2002

Trenchant analysis HERE
posted by hmgovt at 3:12 PM on May 28, 2002