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Meacher’s bid for top scrutiny job
Date published: 07 June 2010
Michael Meacher is bidding to head up a powerful parliamentary committee that scrutinises government spending.
The Oldham West and Royton MP has put himself up for election to become chairman of the Commons public accounts committee.
Mr Meacher had to secure support from 15 Labour colleagues but also has backing across parties with new top Tory Zac Goldsmith and Lib-Dem Ming Campbell supporting him.
The Labour MP wrote to all MPs saying his 40 years experiences, including 25 years on the front bench both in government and opposition, provided him with a good understanding of how Whitehall worked having served in four departments as a minister and shadowed seven departments in opposition.
He said: “I believe this makes me uniquely qualified for the role in searchingly and painstakingly assessing the costs and benefits of public expenditure across the Whitehall spectrum.
“The public accounts committee has always been at the heart of Parliamentary democracy, but in the current financial climate it has an even more important role.
Seeking to do more with less but without sacrificing the quality of outcomes, making efficiency gains where they are realistic and sustainable, and significantly improving project management and procurement across the board are going to be the order of the day.”
Mr Meacher must beat off competition from four other MPs also vying for the role.
He vowed if elected to secure accountability within the Whitehall machine and ensure that Government learns from its failures and successes and implement changes.
Comments
What has Mr Meacher's bank account, or how many homes he may or may not own, to do with this article ProDrive?
As for Zac Goldsmith, he is a close friend, I seem to recall reading, of the PM's, and I further believe that his family have always been big supporters of the Tories.
Meacher's wealth has a lot to do with it, just as you say Zac Goldsmiths links make him a top Tory. He's only just won his first term as an MP.
Not a cat's chance a Labour MP, and part of Brown and Blair's governments will be trusted with such a position. labour and cost control are alien to each other.
Apologies ProDriver, but Meacher's wealth has a lot to do with what? He's seeking election to a committee, he has (some) support from members of other parties, but whatever he has in is bank account will not win him the seat.
Anyone who has had a strong family connection with a political party is likely to be a 'top' person within those ranks. Hilary Benn, is an example. Came to prominence as a trade union researcher, well regarded, father connection, but now there through his own doing.
Pro Driver's blatant irrelevant prejudice undermines the credibility of his post. My comments might be coloured by the fact that I've known Meacher since '68 but we are talking about a very clever man with 40 years' worth of parliamentary experience and considerable integrity and indepencence who wasn't afraid to challenge for the party leadership when others arranged the Brown coronation. He could serve the whole nation well in this post.
Meacher and Goldsmith together? Just shows you, MPs are in it together no matter what their party colours. The expenses scandal wasn't uncovered by MPs' scrutiny. It would never have come to light but for investigative journalists.
Ha! It's like getting Ronnie Biggs to run the Bank of England!
'Seeking to do more with less' Hardly the battlecry of a member of probably the most corrupt Government in this country's history. 'Stealing more with less accountability' would be more apt.
ammypam - where does it say 'Meacher and Goldsmith' together? The latter is merely supporting Meacher's nomination, and I notice you say nothing about the same being offered by Ming Campbell. It's called cross party support, that's all, and it happens on policy too.
As for Ruffyed, how can you call the last Labour government corrupt? Minimum wage, tax credit and so on.
What was corrupt was the way the banks went about their business - and it was the Labour government that had to bail them out!
@JMTS Meacher did not run against Brown. Meacher has been an MP in the most disastrous Labour administrations, e.g Callaghan, Wilson, Blair, Brown. Has he had some Damascene conversion to thrift when it comes to the public purse? I don't remember him rebelling against any Labour spending policies.Do you? Meacher's wealth and property portfolio exposes just how much he has enriched himself as a supposed Socialaist MP. Labour MP's clearly are not for the working man are they?
ProDriver, I never get this 'he can't be a socialist because he has a few bob in the bank' nonsense! I think it's fair to say that Sir Alex Ferguson, Sir Alan Sugar etc are all millionaires, so what would you call them?
Meacher sought nomination to contest the Labour leadership rather than allow a coronation of Brown and challenged Roy Hattersley when Neil Kinnock was leader, which didn't go down well.
And to deal with your final comment, if Labour isn't for the working man, then just who is?
Pro Driver, Read my words. I didn't say Meacher ran against Brown. I said he wasn't afraid to challenge for the leadership. The fact that he didn't get enough nominations to run does not contradict his public willingness to challenge.
Oldboy! Where are you an old boy of? Rampton?
Minimum wage, Tax credits, benefits for all, bent schemes to keep jobless of the statistics, endless quangoes, unlimited immigration all to buy the vote of their client state. Speaker of the House, army procurement, Treaty of Lisbon, referendum, David Kelly, Iraq invasion, WMD lies, Gurkhas, yet more immigration, MPs creaming off every cent they can get their hands on. charging us for their porn. Just a few! Lots more! Corrupt? Nuff said!
Ruffyed, don't you agree with the minimum wage, tax credits, universal benefits, getting the jobless into work, low interest rates etc? As for the Speaker, he was elected by the MP's, not the Labour Party, and MP's from ALL parties had problems with their expenses, some more than others!
Few will argue, now, about Iraq, ALL parties accept the need for controlled immigration and no one can argue that mistakes can, and do, get made, or have you never made them?
Obviously a Daily Mail reader!
Have Your Say
Is Mr meacher a millionaire? i know he owns seven houses. How is Zac Goldsmith a top Tory?
By ProDriver @ 07/06/2010 12:24:07