2February
For a bit of fun, Iain Dale asks his readers to consider the qualities of the various Interior Ministers over recent memory. I'm going to go back as far as Roy Jenkins's first stint at the ministry from 1967. Here's the rundown, one-to-fifteen...
Division I - the good guys
1. William Whitelaw (1979-83) Quiet, diplomatic, held his nerve brilliantly during the widespread social unrest of summer 1981. Implemented Merlyn Rees's review which called for a programme of prison construction, and sharply increased the size of the police force by the simple expedient of increasing police pay. Increased the range of penalties available to the courts so that they could punish serious criminals more severely, but also provide non-custodial sentences more easily for less serious offenders and young people. Created C4, and steered through the Nationality Act to define British citizenship for the first time.
2. Roy Jenkins (1967-70, 74-76) By far the most liberal justice minister we've ever seen, bringing in ideas we now take for granted like parole, majority verdicts, abortion, and homosexuality. On balance, did a lot more good than bad.
3. Douglas Hurd (1986-9) Though far better at Foreign than Interior, Hurd steered a quietly tolerant path for almost four years. Didn't make waves, and didn't need to.
4. Merlyn Rees (1976-9) Like Hurd, a veteran of the NI office in the era when this was a poisoned chalice. Set up an inquiry into the prison service, implemented by Whitelaw.
Division II - the indifferent guys
5. Ken Clarke (1992-3) The laid-back fast-riser of the Major cabinet, held the post for little more than a year. Handled the Jamie Bulger moral panic without recoursing to soundbites, unlike his Labour shadow (whatever happened to him, anyway?)
6. Robert Carr (1972-4) I'd barely heard of him before embarking on this little project. Shorn of responsibility for Northern Ireland, was able to concentrate on domestic affairs, and did so well that we can remember nothing of his time in office.
7. David Waddington (1989-90) Another short-term interior minister, in post for the final thirteen months of the Thatcher administration. Best remembered for not sending in the troops on the first night of the Strangeways riot, precipitating a month-long siege. The jury is still out on the wisdom of this decision.
8. Leon Brittan (1983-6) Continued Whitelaw's work towards racial integration. Forced out after leaking a letter to damage Michael Heseltine over the Westland affair, and that costs him a top-five place.
Division III - the bad guys
9. Michael Howard (1993-7) Congenitally unable to pronounce the word people, and broke with years of tradition by suddenly veering a long way to the right.
10. John Straw (1997-2001) It quickly became clear that New Labour's man Straw was tasked with implementing a policy he didn't believe in. Showed humanity when his son was caught dealing drugs, and left the gesture politics to his boss.
11. Kenneth Baker (1990-2) Another short-termer, just sixteen months in post. Completely lost it in a moral panic over dangerous dogs; the resulting law is a prime example of the maxim legislate in haste, repent at leisure.
12. Charles Clarke (2004-6) Rode roughshod over the democratic process and over human rights to introduce his "control orders", which it now turns out are out of control. Rode roughshod over the democratic process again to introduce an identity register, which is now losing functionality even faster than it eats money. After seventeen months in post, fired over a nine-day wonder that coincided with local elections.
13. John Reid (2006-) Lost it over specious claims of national security in summer 2006, allowing himself to be misled into thinking that nail-polish remover could bring down a plane, and spread that lie across the western world. Very poor handling when prisons filled up in early 2007.
Division IV - the man who resigned at the first whiff of scandal
14. Reginald Maudling (1970-2) Responsible for the foolish policy of internment in Northern Ireland. Finally brought down by his involvement with the crooked John Poulson.
Conference - the incompetent who wouldn't resign even when the room was filled with the smell of scandal
15. David Blunkett (2001-4) At a time when the ministry needed some careful stewardship, he provided nothing of the sort. Irascible, blundering, self-contradictory, committed to gesture politics, and diverted from his main purpose by an insatiable desire for sex with all and sundry. It is very difficult to think of anything good that he did.
