Gosh. The PM's special envoy for forestry has resigned! Hold the front page!
Someone please tell me. What, exactly, were his duties as the "PM's special envoy for forestry"? How did that help the smooth running of the Government and the country? More seriously, are our national forests safe during the interregnum until a new PM's special envoy for forestry can be appointed?
And, of course, how much extra was he paid in his capacity as the PM's special envoy for forestry? Is there an office for him? Any staff?
Has anyone compared the great benefits that we as a nation obtained from our PM's special envoy for forestry as compared to the cost of retaining a PM's special envoy for forestry? Or is it just a trinket that Gordon tossed out at our expense in his desperate attempt to hold together the bunch of rabid ferrets in a sack commonly known as "Labour MPs"?
In which case, just how many PM's "special envoys" are there?
I think you are right on the "sop" jobs front. Nobody ever went bust over-estimating the pomposity of Labour MPs.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling, though, that these special envoys are unpaid. I hope I am right. That said I wouldn't mind being an envoy to a hot island somewhere! Couple of flights a year on a reputable airline :-))
Hi, BE.
ReplyDeleteWell, he gets to go to the Congo and Brazil. Warm enough? :o)
It kind of "feels" like an unpaid title. Reminds me of my days in the Cadets, when the most convenient insult for someone pompous was to label them the "temporary acting unpaid lance corporal". I suspect the attraction lies in the expense account rather than the salary, though. Mind you, imagine the loss of face for the UK in the international arena if we had no-one to send to the Brasilia G8+5 Legislator Forum to speak on forestry issues! Oh noes...
Sadly, his wide range of skills does not include updating his website, which currently reads:
Hello and welcome to the website of Barry Gardiner, Member of Parliament for Brent North and the Prime Ministers Special Envoy for Forestry.
Nor do they include mastery of the apostrophe rule, evidently...