Bob Ainsworth. Your country needs you!
Sat ,01/08/2009It pains me to say it but Britain needs Bob Ainsworth.
Not the ineffectual MP Bob Ainsworth, not the MP who is incapable of outwitting a political opponent and certainly not the MP who yesterday stated that:
I don’t try to pretend I am cleverer than a general or the Chief of the Defence Staff…But I can bring something else, a knowledge and understanding of Parliament, and of civilian life
Well, thanks for that Bob. That’ll be really bloody helpful on the ground in Afghanistan.
{Despite my 24 years in HM Forces the @ToryRascal has a far better grasp on this subject and so please read his blog for an accurate record of being on the ground and an insight into Britain’s Defence}
Britain and it’s troops, are as always fighting for the freedom and rights of other nations and oppressed people. We stand tall and we stand proud.
This role is of paramount importance to the safety and security of the free world and that is not an overstatement.
The role of Secretary of State for Defence should be entrusted to someone with gravitas, a good track record and an ability to forge trust with those they represent, Britain’s Armed Forces. Well, that’s how it went until 1997 whereby the PLP cast that aside with a succession of lightweight ministers that have progressively managed to sell this once great nation down the swanny.
Secretary of State for Defence: Bob Ainsworth
To keep with tradition in the recent Cabinet reshuffle in early June Bob Ainsworth was seemingly plucked from the nether regions of the Government. Of course, it goes without saying that this individual has the respect of the nation. Right? Wrong!
In 2007 Bob Ainsworth was one of 98 MPs who voted to keep MPs’ expense details exempt from the Freedom of Information Act.
With a track record that also saw him claim the maximum on his second home allowance amongst many other claims in 2007/08 which resulted in him being the joint highest claimant you can begin to see how deeply the sleaze tag that beset John Major‘s Cabinet throughout his last year has not only been inherited but has been honed, polished and hugely improved upon during Labour’s 12 years in Government.
In a week that has seen the memorial service of Henry Allingham with Full Military Honours it sickens me to see the ineptitude that let down so many of Henry’s colleagues is still so rife in a Government that has lost it’s way which in turn leaves individual Departments to meander and flounder with the Ministry of Defence being the worst casuality of this internal war.
Simon Heffer writing in today’s Telegraph issues the following quote which in turn is rather telling:
Bob Ainsworth, our pathetic, fourth-choice Minister of Defence
As I said at the top of this post, Britain needs Bob Ainsworth.
Britain needs him to stand up, we need him to be a man and most of all we need him to sort out the crap that is crippling his department and leading to the death of so many of our very brave men and women.
One more thing Bob, get a bloody grip of the bean counters in your department and get that kit out there. Sort out the mess that has become the Urgent Operational Requirements (UOR) process and bring some of that much wasted cash back to where it really belongs, delivering the right kit to the right people at the right time.