Sunday 7 Feb 2010: Government announces appointment of a Minister for Pubs. Housing Minister John Healey, apparently a pub fan, will work across portfolios and report at Cabinet level. He will lead a task force of 5 ministers.
Monday 8 Feb 2010: Healey confirms his new role will be in addition to his Housing role at DCLG, and says he aims to bring proposals forward within a few weeks. These could include a plea to HM Treasury to postpone any additional duty rise on beer, and a look at planning laws to make it harder to apply for change of use or demolish when a pub closes.
Thursday 11 Feb 2010: A Housing Minister sparks fury by remarking during a Radio 5 Live interview that, in some cases, repossession of the family home can be the "best thing". Guess which minister opened his mouth and inserted his foot..? Yep. Homeowners and political opponents call for an apology and his resignation.
This gaff-prone administration don't seem to be able to get anything right.
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2 comments:
He did have a point, though - if you're in arrears with your mortgage and have no realistic prospect of catching up, then in reality repossession might be the least bad option and a means of clearing your debts and wiping the slate clean.
And these things are amplified by the proximity of a general election. To me, this sort of thing is typical of an administration with no focus.
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