Keeping it in the family

One thing I really enjoy is the courtliness of ministerial speeches.  You know that, by and large, they are going to be bland and anodyne.  Chris Mullin’s diaries show just how frustrated ministers become with civil servants that fill their mouths with management speak.  But when you’ve heard a few you can see the little ticks and tells that indicate when a minister’s going off piste.  I make a point of flicking to ‘civil service vision’ so that I can watch for any pained expressions as the oration progresses.

I went along to the Age UK summer reception in Parliament on Monday organised by the excellent Hilary Evans and Jen Pufky.  Age UK has had its own coalition issues to deal with, but seems to have successfully merged Age Concern and Help the Aged into a much more powerful body.  The good Professor Steve Webb MP gave the speech.  He is a really inspired choice for pensions minister and the ‘later life’ lobby is clearly revelling in having such a knowledgable, approachable and dedicated minister in their midst.

What really got me going though was Webb’s speech.  It contained nothing new in policy terms, although I saw smiles widening in the room.  There is a lot for Age UK to love in Webb – as long as he can deliver funding for care.  No, what was really interesting was his references to other ministers.  He talked in glowing terms about his work with Ed Davey MP, the consumer minister on retirement age issues and with Paul Burstow MP, the care services minister.  Now the thing those two ministers have in common is…?  Yes – 10 points – they are both Lib Dems.

Now of course, they are relevant ministers for Webb to be working with, but those comments did shine out in the courtly dance of the ministerial speech, as a beacon of partisan politics in an otherwise relentlessly integrated coalition.