Downing Street Says » Hazel Blears

The Prime Minister’s Spokesman (PMS) began by commenting on the statement released by Hazel Blears that morning. The PMS told the assembled press that the Prime Minister had spoken to Hazel Blears this morning. In the Prime Minister’s view she had made an outstanding contribution to public life, most recently as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and he respected and understood the decision that she had taken.

Asked if there was a replacement, the PMS said that there was no replacement at this point. Asked when Hazel Blears would be standing down, the PMS replied that her statement made clear that she was standing down from the Government and she would be replaced very shortly. Asked if the Prime Minister had first heard about the matter this morning, the PMS said he would not get into any private discussions between the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues.

Asked if Hazel Blears intended to make a resignation statement in the House, the PMS said he did not know. Put that Hazel Blears met the Prime Minister after Question Time yesterday and was this discussed at the time, the PMS said that the Prime Minister spoke to Hazel Blears this morning; he spoke to all of his Cabinet colleagues regularly, but the PMS would not get into a detailed choreography.

Asked if it had been a face-to-face meeting, the PMS confirmed that it was. Asked if he expected the replacement of Hazel Blears to be part of a wider set of changes or would this be an isolated appointment, the PMS said that that was a reshuffle question and he would not be answering it.

Put that four Ministers had now gone and was it still the case that this was the sort of thing to expect before a possible reshuffle, or was this something more serious than that, the PMS said that the reasons for Hazel Blears stepping down were actually set out very clearly in her statement. She had written to the Prime Minister and he would be responding to that in due course. The PMS added that the Prime Minister respected and understood those decisions.

Asked to name the last time that Cabinet Ministers had stepped down before a Cabinet reshuffle, the PMS said he could think of quite a number of Cabinet Ministers who announced their intention to step down before the reshuffle but one, not least the previous Home Secretary.

Asked if the Prime Minister regretted not getting rid of Hazel Blears when the expenses story first materialised, the PMS replied that she had set out her explanation today for why she was taking those decisions and the Prime Minister understood and respected those decisions. Asked if the Prime Minister had a view on the timing of the resignation, the PMS said that the timing was really a matter for Hazel Blears.

Asked if the Prime Minister had tried to persuade her not to resign now, the PMS said that it was a private meeting between the Prime Minister and Hazel Blears this morning. The Prime Minister understood the reasons that she had given for why she wanted to stand down.

Asked if the Prime Minister felt it was helpful that Ministers who had had their conduct called into question over expenses had decided to step down now, the PMS said he believed that that question was in regards to Hazel Blears. It was the view of the Prime Minister that Hazel Blears had made an outstanding contribution to public life. There were a wider set of questions and issues in relation to MPs expenses that related to MPs right across the House of Commons.

Asked whether the Prime Minister would rather MPs who had made mistakes over their expenses quit or be gotten rid of, the PMS said he thought that this was another question on Hazel Blears. She had set out the reasons why she had decided to stand down and the Prime Minister understood and respected that. Asked if the Prime Minister thought that there was any coordination between Ministers over these announcements, the PMS said he did not think that that was a matter for us to comment on. The individual Ministers themselves had set out their own particular reasons why, in their particular circumstances, they had taken the decisions that they had.

Asked what the mood of the Prime Minister was at the moment, the PMS said that these were clearly difficult times in terms of the trust and faith people had in the overall political process and these were difficult times in the economy, but the Prime Minister was absolutely determined to do whatever was necessary and he felt it was his duty to do whatever was necessary, in order to restore trust in the political system and take the action necessary to get the country through this difficult economic period. That’s what he was determined to focus on.

Asked if these were difficult times for the Prime Minister personally, the PMS said that that these were difficult times for many people in the country who had been affected by the economic downturn. That was why the Prime Minister was determined to take the action that was necessary to help the people of the country get through what was clearly a difficult time economically for the country.

Put that the Prime Minister had said at the weekend that he would not stand down and was that still his position, the PMS said that the Prime Minister had made his position clear and of course that remained his position.

Asked what the Prime Minister would say to comments from the opposition that this was an almighty mess, the PMS said that he did not accept that at all. The Prime Minister was focussing on the breakdown in political trust. There was a very good and lengthy discussion at Cabinet yesterday about how we dealt with that and we were also determined to take action on the economic front. It had been a difficult period for the political process in recent weeks, but that was not just a matter for the Government; it was a matter that affected MPs right across the House of Commons.

Asked if the Prime Minister expected any more Ministers to resign, the PMS said that that was another reshuffle question and it would get the same answer.

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» Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Hazel Blears

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