Great Western Coffee Shop

From my feeds ...


I wonder if the DfT's group of ministers will change? 

Was the person writing that saying it as a joke?

I suspect so ... yet many a true word spoken in jest?   He was appointed to Shadow Cabinet in 2005 and has move roles in 2007 and 2009 before getting an actual cabinet job in 2010. Moves in 2012, 2015 and July 2016, so he's been at the DfT longer than most of his other roles, and longer than most others who have held the SoS role over the last 30 years.

We could have a bi mode Brexit, whereby it would be claimed that all the advantages of Brexit could be obtained without actually leaving.

I thought the campaign was for bi-mode in that it said we could have all the benefits of EU membership without actually being a member!

Ah no, that would be BI MODE bi mode, whereby we could stay in and obtain the benefits of leaving, or we could leave and retain the benefits of staying in. Or is that Quad mode ?

Not sure if it's another joke, but from "meltdown country" on Facebook ...

If Grayling is in charge we will probably have joined the Euro by December.

Surely it will be going to Liam Fox?

Nah !  Give it to Boris.

Any opportunity to move Chris Grayling away from the DfT should surely be grasped with both hands?

I suspect that there will probably be a change of PM shortly after whoever gets the job.

Just means Brexit will turn  up late & short formed.

Informed speculation from Laura Kuennsburg that Grayling will be new Brexit Secretary and Clare Perry who was 'ashamed' to be rail Minister, to replace him as SoS. Might mean that Devizes has a branch line and a station by Christmas ?

Nah ! It will be cancelled due to lack of crew.

It would not mean that Devizes (or Marlborough, also in her constituency) had a branch line by Christmas.  Of all the DfT ministers at various levels, Claire Perry struck me as one of the best informed and best understanding of the brief - and that was not just because she was well briefed - she understood it too.   Perhaps that's biased - I have met her and had meaningful conversations on a number of occasions, not always in total agreement either - perhaps other ministers are similarly good but I haven't had the pleasure of enough involvement to appreciate that.

Claire Perry would make my day if she was SoS ,especially if jojo got shunted at the same time,However the lady has been at the dept before and might not want her fingers burnt for a second time ,shame to lose out on her talent,

Quick edit to amend spelling.

Yes, Jojo does not seem at all happy at Transport where he stumbles all too often. Perhaps Mrs May may fire off a couple of Johnsons on her own ! :o

But isn't there something very rail about "JoJo" and "BoJo" ... or was that "BoBo" and "CoCo".  Sorry - clowning around, and remembering the MetroVic "CoBo"s.

That thought had crossed my mind.

.....maybe Mark Hopwood will be ennobled and take over? Plenty of nooks & crannies in which to hide in the House of Lords! 😂

Hmm, don't know much about Dominic Raaaaaaaaab...

Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabid Brexiteer !

https://mobile.twitter.com/MallowNews/status/1016250021799497729/photo/1
This Just in  from twitter!...

yep - Raab got the job....

On Twitter ;-

 .... the buffon door revolves once again ....

Were that it real. David Davies isn't that clever.

Boris gone!!!

Leadership challenge in the offing I suspect.

"(Theresa) May you live in interesting times."

"Theresa May says a new Foreign Secretary will be announce shortly" ... hmmm ... don't know who's replace Raaab at Housing yet ...

Gove is key now. Which side he picks will probably determine if there's a leadership challenge.

Chris has resigned from the Department for Transport.

Sadly, not Grayling, but the very junior Parliamentary Private Secretary Chris Green.

Who would you have instead of Chris Grayling, and what difference would that person make?

Of those with transport briefs, Andy Mcdonald or Baroness Randerson.

If I could chose anyone then Baron Adonis.

The difference they would make is none of them are ideologically wedded to the idea that railways are in any way suited to the free market.

Meanwhile Jeremy Hunt can longer fupp up the NHS. Foreign Secretary may be a promotion for him, but at least it keeps him away from hospitals.

You got me excited for a second.

Oh well.

From the Conservative party, as per earlier postings, Claire Perry.

Chris Green - there’s a name with a railway history.

Since none of them are in Government, nor are ever likely to be in the current climate, that's rather futile, so I'll ask the question again, since the subject is "Government changes".

I am genuinely interested in the difference you think a different individual could make.

Grayling doesn’t or won’t understand anything technical, I think you need a new set of civil servants in the DfT.  a few qualified engineers might help...

The difference an individual can make is based on their political leaning and their party's ideology. So my answers were based on a change of government.

I'm happy to wait, while continuing to enjoy watching the Tories tear themselves apart. It's just a little disappointing that they dragged the whole country into their Eurosquabble. David Cameron was too spineless to face down the euroseptics (sic) in his party so used the referendum as means of fighting the battle by proxy. That was a terrible decision as borne out by the last two years. He stupidly believed a referendum would settle the matter and unite his party. Fool. We are a representative democracy. We elect politicians to lead, to make the great decisions of state on our behalf. Not hand that decision making back to the people and then weigh them down with propaganda and lies. Remaining in or leaving the EU should have been a general election manifesto pledge, not a referendum. And yes, the same goes for Labour's referendum folly of 1975. Both these referendums were proxy wars fought because politicians were too concerned about party unity instead of what was best for the country.

Nice sidestep!  ;)

Whilst Mr Corbyn remains as Leader (nominally) of the Labour Party however, I would recommend not holding your breath!

With the frequency of change of ministers (18 ministers in 30 years according to a source I trust, though I have got gone through the lists), and with ministers arriving at the department with limited knowledge of the detail of how things work there, I wonder that they can have any effect.   But these are typically people who are bright and / or driven, and they can start to make changes while at the department ... changes which may leave a legacy that lasts well beyond their tenure (and may be therefore be progressed in a rudderless way once they're gone).    How much of a change a minister can make in his or short tenure will depend not only on what needs to be done at the time, but also his / her drive, level of influence within the government, and whether government policy is directed towards a forthcoming election or towards other goals.

In my view, we would do well to have somewhat more permanence in the key ministers at the DfT - perhaps a doubling of the tenure - and to ensure that was done with ministers who have a real interest in the subject, and a skill and desire to apply that interest to deliver public and private transport improvements.   Yes, the names that come to my mind are Claire Perry and Andrew Adonis.

At the end of the day its all down to, "its not what you know its who you know."

Not all of it ... but an awful lot, yes.   And you can get to know a lot more people a lot better if you have longer in post.

I don't know much about Claire Perry, never really heard much about her if I'm honest although I believe she's a Wiltshire MP? Perhaps she'd be good for the Transwilts!

Adonis is no fool but he's hated by the current Left wing Labour leadership (which is probably a recommendation in itself!) so unless he can be persuaded to Cross the floor it's extremely unlikely. The Tories do respect him however hence his recent appointments.

Of course, the drawback with him, for those that rant about democracy, is that he's never been elected to anything, whether by referendum or other means! 🙂

Danny Dyer used a better word...


Am I wrong in thinking that the government can invite any member of either house to take a ministerial role? It may well be the case that 'in the current climate' the government would not seek to find the best person for the job, but if they had the country's best interests at heart (and I realise that is a party-sized 'if') then they could choose someone who cares about it and who was, I think, rather good at it - like the aforementioned Adonis.

Irrespective of anyone's political views, Danny Dyer is an appalling character who advocates violence against women, the use of Class A drugs, and has a "career" largely built on the sycophantic adoration of career violent criminals and football hooligan "top boys". He is the epitome of the "lad mag" generation.

The use of controversial behaviour to reinvigorate a flagging "celebrity" career is of course hardly a new tactic, but the irony of Dyer using that particular epithet to describe someone else will not be lost on many......nor will the fact that he voted to leave the EU.

.....now it's time for my lie down! 🙂

Stations in her constituency are Pewsey and Bedwyn; TransWilts passes to the west. I've had the pleasure of meeting a number of rail and transport ministers and shadows at various levels and she has impressed to the highest degree.  Looking at other Wiltshire MPs, Andrew Murrison and John Glen would come to a DfT role without prior department experience, but would I'm sure do an excellent job; both have prior experience of picking up departments.


I too 'ranted' about democracy when Andrew arrived.  Said I wasn't sure which was better - an unelected person, or a representative of a Scots constituency when rail in Scotland is very much at the guidance of Holyrood rather than Westminster. The principle of concern remains, but the man and his commitment and direction outweigh the concerns for me.  And I note that his politics have moved over the years, including the far forward looking view he took of the UK's development for a conservative government though he didn't stay with the current one that's a big too far right for his comfort.

It is a nuanced and complicated world we live in, and even truly awful people can be right sometimes.


It is a nuanced and complicated world we live in, and even truly awful people can be right sometimes. A propos, Churchill (quoting someone else) described democracy as "the worst form of Government except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time." In the US, local judges are democratically elected - which may sound better than our appointment system until one realises that to get elected you need money, and who better to ask for that than lawyers who, hey, might represent a case that you hear one day...

The House of Lords has got very little to do with democracy.  They're appointed through patronage & are totally unaccountable to the electorate. That said, they do a pretty good job of holding the Commons to account, and in some cases bring very useful knowledge ,experience and ability to bear.

In my view, a great problem in the UK is that those in charge, whether elected politicians or appointed civil servants often seem to lack basic science and maths, let alone any understanding of those areas for which they are responsible.

IMHO,  a politician or civil servant should know most of the following.

The difference between a kilowatt and a kilowatt hour.
How many milligrams equal a gram.
The difference between carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.
The difference between milliwatts and Megawatts
The difference between a gas balloon and a hot air balloon.
And similar basic science.

They all seem very competent in using their mobile phones and posting on various groups.  Watch them in the background during PMs Question Time...... ::)

From The BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-44785797)


Although this creates vacancies, I don't see this particular cascade (is that the right term?) of Conservative MPs  in government roles effecting any of the Transport team.

Nope. Just affecting Theresa May.

Tick tock...

For some reason I now have a mental image of a crocodile in a flat hat...