LET HIM GO

by MONITOR
LORD Jones of Birmingham, the former Digby Jones, Director General of the Confederation of British Industries, and now one of Gordon Brown's “non-party” ministers, told a small group of close business associates that he would resign before the next election and two of his intimates told The Times what he had said. It made the headlines, of course, as further evidence of Gordon Brown's shaky hold on power when in reality it is nothing more than further evidence of the inability of political outsiders to act according to the rules of the game they are playing. Parachuting businessmen into Whitehall and Westminster seldom works; if they have skills the government needs they should become special advisors. Lord Jones' job is to encourage overseas investment in Britain; there is no evidence thus far of his performance but as a member of the government in the House of Lords he has not been very helpful, having participated in only 13 of the 64 votes that have taken place since he was appointed. According to the reports which reached The Times Lord Jones said he would resign before an election to avoid being asked whether he supported Mr Brown. That naive thinking will probably lead to every journalist he meets from now on asking him the question he doesn't want to answer. The prime minister should put him out of his misery by offering to accept his resignation with immediate effect.