Sunday 1 September 2013

Tory WAGs behind PM's doomed proposal for military action in Syria

In its article today, "Syria crisis: the wives whispering in David Cameron’s ear", the Telegraph suggests the proposal for Britain to launch a military attack on Syria, did not initially come from MPs themselves, but rather from a number of their wives, who had strong views on the developing situation.  This may have accounted for Michael Gove's extraordinary outburst, immediately following the Government's defeat, and David Cameron's reluctance to talk about the matter, once he'd lost the crucial vote.

Some senior Tories feel it's a good thing, that ministers get opinions on these important issues from their wives, suggesting,  “You’ve got to listen to people you trust outside the bunker", but others, perhaps have a different view.  The Telegraph itself, has run stories previously on Tory wives dictating how their husbands should act, for instance, on the issue of the considerable pay rise MPs have been awarded.  Some ministers had expressed the view that they might forgo the increase at such a sensitive time, when so many people across Britain are experiencing reduced hours, reduced wages and even redundancy, while many backbenchers felt a pay rise was completely justified, given the salaries they felt they could command if they left Parliament; a Tory source suggested recently, it is not the members of parliament, themselves, the Prime Minister fears, but the wives!

It is interesting to make the comparison with another group of famous wives, who aren't shy, when it comes to sharing their husband's limelight.  I wonder how football fans would react, if it emerged that the likes of Coleen Rooney and Victoria Beckham had held a meeting, and decided England would be playing a 3-2-5 formation for the duration of the 2010 World Cup!    Though actually, I suspect the England WAGs probably know far more about the game of association football, than Tory wives know about the complexities of world politics.

Either way, last Thursday evening, the Government spectacularly lost on pens, and all the main players stropped off home for an early bath, amid jeers across the media of "Loooooo-sers!!"