DEFRA Move

[KenK]

Well Milliband has gone to the Foreign Office, Hilary Benn is the DEFRA minister. Haven't heard anything about Barry Gardiner yet, fingers crossed, Minister for the North Pole would be good. Funny how making a cock-up at DEFRA seems to make you an expert at foreign affairs.

 

Ken

[Richard Fairhurst]

Interestingly, Benn was on the ETR Select Committee in 2000 (I think?) when it looked at British Waterways - and when Gwyneth Dunwoody absolutely roasted Dave Fletcher and George Greener - so he has some familiarity with the subject. He also represents a constituency with a waterway in it (Leeds Central), which is more than Miliband or Gardiner did.

 

Thus far it looks like DEFRA, as a department, has survived intact, and talk of responsibility for waterways (and others?) moving elsewhere has not come to pass. This is arguably a disappointment.

 

I would have expected to wait until Monday for the full list of ministers, but it looks like it may actually be coming tomorrow. I'd be absolutely amazed if Gardiner was still in post, though!

[Gillie]

Yes...Minister for the North Pole would be good...is that far enough away though??

[fender]

Yes...Minister for the North Pole would be good...is that far enough away though??

 

Not if its the North Pole, London!

[Chris J W]

By the way - it's "Defra" and NOT "DEFRA"

 

Yes, I know it SHOULD be the latter - but as I've just retired from there I think I can point out the mistake ...

 

 

(Sorry, but it does bug me when I see it spelt 'wrong')

[tony collins]

Well Milliband has gone to the Foreign Office, Hilary Benn is the DEFRA minister. Haven't heard anything about Barry Gardiner yet, fingers crossed, Minister for the North Pole would be good. Funny how making a cock-up at DEFRA seems to make you an expert at foreign affairs.

 

Ken

Actually Milliband inherited the problem caused by Margaret Beckett so I suppose that that last comment is thoroughly disproved!

 

Tony

[Richard Fairhurst]

Nothing to do with spelling, capitalisation is house style. It's up to the publication/website/author in question whether they want to follow the organisation's preference or do their own thing.

 

Another example: the Waterways Trust call themselves The Waterways Trust. I don't capitalise the definite article for anyone, so when they appear in WW, they're the Waterways Trust. There's absolutely no reason why we should afford them a capital letter over the National Trust just at the say-so of some marketing bloke!

[Chris J W]

Nothing to do with spelling, capitalisation is house style. It's up to the publication/website/author in question whether they want to follow the organisation's preference or do their own thing.

 

Another example: the Waterways Trust call themselves The Waterways Trust. I don't capitalise the definite article for anyone, so when they appear in WW, they're the Waterways Trust. There's absolutely no reason why we should afford them a capital letter over the National Trust just at the say-so of some marketing bloke!

 

Oh, I do take your point, but I suppose it's the ex-civil-servant in me that feels the hackles rise.

 

Part of it, for me at least, comes from when "MAFF" started regularly appearing in newspapers, et al, as "Maff", which you knew was due to lazy spelling checking software!

[magpie patrick]

Where I used to work we reckoned that Defra actually stood for Department for Extinguishing Farming and Rural Activity... anyway, whatever Milliband did or didn't do I have met him and I wouldn't trust him as far as I can throw Canterbury Cathedral. Hope that remark isn't beyond the rules of this website!

[KenK]

Actually Milliband inherited the problem caused by Margaret Beckett so I suppose that that last comment is thoroughly disproved!

 

Tony

 

Margaret Beckett ended up at the FO as well so I think the comment is valid. I didn't notice Milliband solving the problems he inherited, did you?

 

Ken

[tony collins]

Margaret Beckett ended up at the FO as well so I think the comment is valid. I didn't notice Milliband solving the problems he inherited, did you?

 

Ken

 

My point was that time at Defra did NOT qualify one for the Foriegn Office. If you read the first post it seemed to suggest (with some irony) that the revervse was the case. I think we're on the same side here.

 

tony

[carlt]

Margaret Beckett ended up at the FO as well so I think the comment is valid. I didn't notice Milliband solving the problems he inherited, did you?

 

Ken

As a former slave to the system can I get annoyed at people calling it the FO instead of the FCO?

[Chris J W]

My point was that time at Defra did NOT qualify one for the Foriegn Office. If you read the first post it seemed to suggest (with some irony) that the revervse was the case. I think we're on the same side here.

 

tony

 

Actually, because of the Enviromental stuff and Climate Change issues, the Defra post was seen as being higher than it's MAFF predessor's post.

[KenK]

As a former slave to the system can I get annoyed at people calling it the FO instead of the FCO?

 

Yes, but only because it's Friday

 

Ken

[adam1uk]

The junior ministers at Defra have been appointed, but as far as I can tell their areas of responsibility haven't yet been assigned.

 

Minister of State: Lord Rooker

 

Minister of State: Phil Woolas

 

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State: Joan Ruddock

 

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for the South East: Jonathan Shaw

[carlt]

[edit. Said something I should not have]

Too quick sir,

 

"putting 'stuff' aside" definitely sounded like a euphemism (Sniff sniff)

[Richard Fairhurst]

<cracks open a bottle of something to celebrate Gardiner's departure>

[tony collins]

<cracks open a bottle of something to celebrate Gardiner's departure>

 

Clear then, that there is no love lost from either direction - Good riddance!

 

Let's have three cheers.

 

 

Tony

[Radiomariner]

As a former slave to the system can I get annoyed at people calling it the FO instead of the FCO?

 

No Carl I dont think you can. I used to work for the F & CO as far as I know it was never the FCO. Also I believe,the '& C' was dropped from the title in the 70's.

[adam1uk]

No Carl I dont think you can. I used to work for the F & CO as far as I know it was never the FCO. Also I believe,the '& C' was dropped from the title in the 70's.

 

This would suggest you're wrong: www.fco.gov.uk

[Radiomariner]

This would suggest you're wrong: www.fco.gov.uk

OK I admit my error, they are still the F&CO and the & not the &C has been omitted from the abreviated title.

Actually, with hindsight I remember visiting a pub on the cut (Navigation at Cosgrove) just about a year back.

This was/is the nearest pub to a Country House owned by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the favourate watering hole for those that worked there. In my time we were not allowed to mention who we worked for, let alone what we did there. On my more recent visit there was a group of youngsters with 'T' shirts and sweaters with FCO blazed across them, and flashing their security badges! (They are not doing the same work now of course, that has all stopped now, 'there'.)

[carlt]

(They are not doing the same work now of course, that has all stopped now, 'there'.)

Mmmm...wrong again RM. They just don't shout about it.

[Radiomariner]

Not wrong. You are making an wrongful assumption as to which department I worked for.

No further comments

[Chris J W]

On my more recent visit there was a group of youngsters with 'T' shirts and sweaters with FCO blazed across them, and flashing their security badges!

 

Odd you should mention that. We were never supposed to wear our security badges out of the office (I was Defra, BTW) which most people did, but then they'd start chatting to some of the outsourced contractors who had things like "Defra Buildings Maintenance" (or somesuch) on Polo Shirts! And I had to snigger yesterday when four blokes rolled into the Civil Service Club all wearing rather nice FCO er-can't-think-of-what-they-are-called-but-like-thick-tracksuit-type-tops jackets!

[Norman Bond]

can't-think-of-what-they-are-called-but-like-thick-tracksuit-type-tops jackets!

 

Hoodies. Defra are run by a gang of Hoodies!!!

 

 

Things suddenly start to become clearer...

 

 

Norman