Brown beefs up Scottish voice in Cabinet

Published on Friday 3 October 2008 22:22

SCOTLAND will once again have a full-time Secretary of State in the Cabinet, after Gordon Brown decided to beef up the role in the face of an SNP onslaught.

Jim Murphy, the MP for East Renfrewshire, will succeed Des Browne, whose dual role as Scottish and Defence Secretary was criticised. Mr Browne leaves the Cabinet as part of the reshuffle.

There was a surprise recall for Peter Mandelson, who quit the government twice under Tony Blair. He becomes the Business Secretary.

Mr Murphy, unlike his predecessor, will have no other responsibilities, allowing him to focus on the task of representing Scotland at Westminster and tackling the threat of a buoyant SNP. He said he was "very honoured to have a chance to serve in a UK Cabinet as a full-time Secretary of State for Scotland".

He added: "I am delighted to be following Des Browne. He did two big jobs very, very well. But I think there is a lesson to be learned, which is that Scotland is important, Scotland is crucial."

Mr Murphy went on: "It's right that Scotland has a full-time Secretary of State."

Sources close to the Prime Minister said last night that the move was a huge opportunity for Mr Murphy.

"Jim will be energetic and want to show what he can do. He will take Salmond on," one source said.

The Scotsman understands Mr Browne was offered a combined role as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Scotland. However, Downing Street sources insisted that he was "tired" and ready to leave the government.

His departure to the back-benches, and possibly from parliament at the next election, comes despite heavy lobbying from military chiefs, who fear upheaval while the army is fighting wars on two fronts.

Yesterday, Mr Browne, the MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, issued a statement in which he expressed his sadness at leaving the Ministry of Defence and pledged loyalty to the Prime Minister.

Mr Browne, 56, said he had told Mr Brown "some months ago" that he intended to step down from the government next spring, which is when a draw-down of troops from Iraq is expected.

"Therefore, I fully understand why he has made the decisions that he has in this reshuffle," Mr Browne said. "I am proud of what I have achieved as Scotland's voice in the Cabinet and in renewing the relevance of the Scotland Office."

He cited legislation giving legal protection for Scotch whisky and establishing the Calman Commission on devolution as examples of the "real benefits" delivered for Scotland.

Mr Murphy, 41, entered parliament in the Labour landslide of 1997, capturing Eastwood – until then, the Tories' safest seat in Scotland. His seat, however, is a top Tory target at the next election.

The SNP described the reshuffle as "thoroughly botched". Angus Robertson, the party's Westminster leader, said Westminster was on to its third Secretary of State for Scotland since Alex Salmond became First Minister.

"Des Browne's departure shows just how much of a dog's dinner Gordon Brown has made of his reshuffle," he said. "It would have been far better to admit that the game is up for the Scotland Office – which is clearly just a publicly funded campaigning vehicle for the Labour Party.

"This is another missed opportunity to accept the new political framework in these islands."

However, David Mundell, the shadow Scottish secretary, welcomed the decision to make the Scotland Office a stand-alone Cabinet post.

But he had a dig at Mr Murphy, saying: "Staggeringly, the complete opposite of Mr Brown's quip that this 'is no time for novices' now seems to apply to his Scotland Office."

Mr Mundell added: "However, I am pleased that the unsuitable combination of the Scotland and defence jobs has been ended. The defence job is too much to combine with other responsibilities, and Des Browne sometimes could not fulfil requirements to represent Scotland."

The Murphy appointment was welcomed by Iain McMillan, the director of CBI Scotland, who said he looked forward to working with him. "We welcome the fact Scotland will once again have a full-time voice in the UK Cabinet," he said.

Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, also hailed the appointment of Mr Murphy.

>BULLETS<Labour is still trailing behind the Tories in the polls in the wake of the party conference season, it emerged last night.

A new YouGov poll, released today, puts David Cameron's party on 45 per cent, enough to secure a handsome General Election victory and up one point from a similar poll last month. Labour rose seven points, to 31 per cent, but seemed to have made most gains from the Lib Dems, who slumped five points to 15 per cent.

A separate ICM poll found the Conservatives up one point to 42 per cent and Labour down two on 30 per cent.

The two surveys were conducted after the end of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.