“Since I’ve been Secretary of State, just look at what’s happened…”
Some eyebrow raising quotes from the Secretary of State for Wales etc, Peter Hain, in an interview for “Mirror readers” [as opposed to Daily Mail readers - Ed]. Ostensibly to emphasise that absolute deadline of 26th March – although there is the slight matter of a closer, potentially more fudgeable, deadline first – he finds time to highlight the ongoing campaign, “I love this job but it would be, I think, a bonus for Northern Ireland if I were elected deputy leader..” of course it would, Peter, of course it would..He also holds out the promise of a devolved administration being able to put a case for lowering corporation tax, while claiming such an argument would be impossible for a Secretary of State to advocate..
“It’s impossible for a member of the UK Cabinet like me to advocate a different rate of corporation tax for one part of the UK and the European Commission has ruled it is unlawful to do so – within a member state you’ve got to have a common rate.
“But I think an incoming Executive could make a case because it’s a very special situation of an island of Ireland – one bit different from the other in terms of its tax systems.”
But my favourite quote from the interview, apart from the “I love this job but it would be, I think, a bonus for Northern Ireland if I were elected deputy leader..” which is priceless -
“Since I’ve been Secretary of State, just look at what’s happened.”
[Would that be the ongoing political circus he's complaining about? Or the "arrogance and contempt for the law" - Ed]
Secretary of State, I hope you get elected deputy leader as well. At least there’s less chance of you getting done over by the judges.
Best of luck.
Happy Winterval,
The Watchman
Nauseating stuff. The bits on water charges and corporation tax were just the usual NIO spin that has been taken apart here and elsewhere.
What a load of crap. This must be the worst Secretary of State we have had and given who else he is competing against for the title that really takes some doing.
He typifies what is wrong with a government that has been in office too long. Arrogant, complacent, ineffective, see themselves as being there by God given right. They have a contempt for the law, for truth and for the electorate. They even believe their own spin. We need rid of him and the country needs rid of Blair’s new Labour. What a pathetic waste of an opportunity. They came in with thumping majorities and buckets of good will and what exactly have they achieved?