Friday 5 June 2009

Brown sacks Paul "hot water" Murphy in favour of Peter "£103,000" Hain

On his way out:
The man who claimed £3000 for a new shower
as his water was too hot to handle.

by johnofgwent

Oh Bugger. Gordon Brown just spoiled my day. Well almost. News has reached me via a throwaway comment on a BBC News Website Blog that Gordon's Cabinet Reshuffle has de[prived me of a target of opportunity. Over on WalesOnline the news breaks that Gordon has decided the current Welsh Secretary, Torfaen's Paul Murphy, must go.

Murphy is a man made famous for doing little for his electorate but also for claiming in the cleaned up expenses forms that he needed to spend £3,000 for a new shower because the old one failed a safety test, whereas the original expenses form as revealed by the Daily Telegraph shows the money was splashed out because the shower was too hot.

Murphy, a man some might say has done his duty by his party and should have been quietly put out to pasture, was forced back into the limelight by the departure of Peter Hain from the post of Welsh Secretary after the revelation that he had omitted to declare £103,000 of leadership election expenses. So it is perhaps surprising to see the Orange Comeback Kid once more beiong told to step up to the plate.

On his way back
Come on in Peter, the water is lovely.
And we'll forget all about that £103,000

Mind you, a closer look at Murphy's wikipedia page will show you his fortunes seem inextricably linked to those of Hain. More than once you will see Murphy took over a post from Hain, only to have Hain come back and reposess the job just when Murphy had got the seat warm.

But I must confess a personal disappointment in this development. I was looking forward to taking on Murphy as Welsh Secretary at the next general election (which by all accounts will be sometime next week the way things are going) and I have now been deprived of that honour. Never mind.

Maybe we should put it about that the man who briefed the shadow chancellor to enable him to savage Gordon Brown at the despatch box over "Dear Prudence's" income tax measures that penalised heterosexual businessmen whilst favouring lesbian and gay ones is interested in taking on Labout over its Devolution policy that allows MP's and AM's to blame each other for health service failures, millions of pounds of wasted arts grants, failing businesses and more.

Maybe if someone explained to Hain what happens to people who cross me we can have him cut and run for the hills. Preferably the foothills of Table Mountain, and certainly without a postal vote !

businessmen