Second Rank
Thomas Jones
The government's fifth columnist at the Guardian, Julian Glover, is to be David Cameron's new chief speech writer. He has apparently 'impressed the Downing Street team with his passion for the Coalition over the past year'. (His assessment of Cameron's conference speech a year ago could have been mistaken for a job application, displaying broad enthusiasm tempered with a few minor criticisms to show how he could improve things.) In the wake of Wednesday's blustery performance you might think that the prime minister's office should be looking for someone who wasn't already such a fan to sharpen the metaphors and hone the soundbites. Indeed, rumour has it that Glover may not have been Downing Street's first choice, but Glen Newey turned them down.
Comments
Then again, does anyone remember John Major? He was prime minister at one time, total disaster, yet he was so boring, as a person if you like, that in cityboy pubs up and down the country as late as May 1997 you'd hear people braying, 'Safe pair of hands, safe pair of hands.' You never know...