Conference season means a beach day for the Lib Dems, whilst the Labour Party buries its head in the sand. Read about it in this week's Who's Top, Who's Not!
Top – Layla Moran
Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran has stepped back from the glamour of the front bench and her role as spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology to become the new Chair of the Health and Social Care Select Committee.
In her statement on the appointment, she said she was looking forward to being a “critical friend of the Government” and a supporter of the patient voice.
This appointment is good news for Moran’s own political career, allowing her to rise to prominence by leading an important select committee. As chair, she will be responsible for undertaking detailed scrutiny of the Government’s approach to health policy and spending, as well as delivering reports. Moran must balance the responsibility of chairmanship with creating consensus within the committee as without this, opposition members may dissent.
Regardless, her appointment is hugely positive for the Liberal Democrats. Debates around the NHS characterised the Liberal Democrat Conference last week. In his keynote speech, Sir Ed implored the Government to “invest now to make the NHS winterproof” and ensure that Labour does not make the same mistakes that their predecessors did. If the party is strategic, having a Lib Dem Health Committee chair will provide real power and influence over the future direction of the NHS.
Middle – Sir Ed Davey
Sir Ed Davey channelled his inner ‘embarrassing dad’ this week at the Lib Dem Conference in sunny Brighton. Once again forfeiting dignity for the sake of attention, Sir Ed arrived at the conference on a jet ski whilst spectators observed him with a withering look.
In a bid to continue to prove that the Lib Dems are the resident ‘fun’ party, he enthusiastically sung along to ABBA’s ‘Take a chance on me’ before delivering his first speech. In the room, the music was blasting. However, the live TV footage only captured the sound of Sir Ed’s microphone, meaning viewers were subjected to a lengthy acapella rendition of the song.
Despite the mishaps, the conference was overwhelmingly optimistic for the Liberal Democrats. The feeling of jubilation characterised the weekend as Sir Ed celebrated the Lib Dems being the third largest party in the Commons, and that there are now ‘the most Lib Dems MPs ever’. He promised to “finish the job” to eliminate the Conservative Party and become the credible opposition. His animated character has seemed to drive the Party’s momentum, but WTWN can’t help questioning – how long will it last?
Bottom – Sue Gray
It was ironically revealed on International Equal Pay Day that Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray is paid more than him.
This makes her better paid than any cabinet minister or any of her Conservative predecessors in the Chief of Staff role. However, her handsome salary is not the only reason why Gray takes the bottom spot this week.
The ‘hostile briefings’ against Sue Gray suggest dysfunction within the No.10 operation. This is not a good sign for the new Labour government, having just celebrated its 2-month birthday, and demonstrates that not all SPADs are happy bunnies.
Despite this, she clearly has Starmer’s trust and respect. But this dissonance will hinder Labour’s operation and Starmer must do more if he wants to unite his team, prevent this from happening again and govern effectively.