The Midas Touch?
May 1, 2007 
Curriculum Vitae: The Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP
Current position: Secretary of State for Health
Current Salary: 136,677
1948: Born in Australia into a privileged family
Education: Canberra Girls Grammar School, Australian National University, Newnham College Cambridge, Nuffield College Oxford
1971: Press officer, Age Concern
1973: Press Officer, UK National Council for Civil Liberties (Liberty)
1974-83 General Secretary, Liberty
1981: Backs Tony Benn for Labour Deputy Leadership
1981: Tony Benn loses deputy leadership
1983: Stands for parliament in safe labour seat of Leicester East following defection of sitting MP to SDP
1983: Leicester East elects Peter Bruinvels (Conservative) to parliament
1983: Appointed press secretary and chief policy adviser to Neil Kinnock
1992: Neil Kinnock unexpectedly loses general election due to disastrous PR campaign
1989-94 Deputy head of institute of public policy research (leftwing thinktank)
1994-7: Head of research, Andersen Consulting (later Accenture-watch this space)
1997 : Elected MP for Leicester West
1999: Minister of state, DTI
2001: Secretary of State for Trade and Industry
Summary of manufacturing sector in the UK 1995-2003
| Year | Number of enterprises | Total turnover | Total employment - average during the year |
|---|---|---|---|
| (£ million) | (Thousand) | ||
| 1995 | 171,518 | 425,963 | .. |
| 1996 | 164,808 | 450,177 | .. |
| 1997 | 169,663 | 469,787 | .. |
| 1998 | 169,376 | 460,677 | 4,416 |
| 1999 | 170,196 | 461,771 | 4,269 |
| 2000 | 167,289 | 469,146 | 4,143 |
| 2001 | 164,718 | 461,898 | 3,969 |
| 2002 | 162,212 | 450,090 | 3,762 |
| 2003 | 158,528 | 447,178 | 3,534 |
(yes, we were doing all right until she walked into the DTI)
2003: Accenture awarded £1.9 billion contract to provide NHS IT infrastructure
2005: Britain’s last major car manufacturer (MG Rover) goes bust. Hewitt precipitates this by saying company had gone into administration while directors were still trying to work out a rescue deal. First airing of phrase “Hewitt Blewit”
2005 Appointed Secretary of State for Health
2005-6 NHS goes into deficit by £623 million
2006: Loses confidence of nursing profession: Heckled at conference after 7,000 redundancies announced
2006: Accenture pulls out of NPfIT citing losses of 1.1million per day (thanks Patsy)
2006-7: Loses confidence of medical profession: Attacks GPs for daring to hit government targets, hospital consultants for not working hard enough
2007: Creates Debacle in junior doctor training by implementing disastrous MTAS application process
In short she has turned almost everything she has touched to dust. What do you think: would you give her a job? I’m pretty sure she won’t be going back to Accenture
Yes, but the most salient part of CV you missed- is big chum of TB, therefore can do no wrong
Good point Guthrum. Mind you I wouldn’t put it on my CV!
That is one scary CV and photo. The MTAS system would have made sure none of that information was given to any employer.
Thanks for the post. Michelle
Guthrum, in that case, will she be out on her ear after Blair steps down?
Ellee I expect her to be given some crap sideways move like leader of the house.
Mind you that would mean a lot of legislation wouldn’t get through because she’d stuff it up somehow. Maybe chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
Who do you fancy as her replacement? I bet it’s a dead cert that she gets the push.
Milliband-I think Brown will want to bury him
Are any of them much better?
[...] junior doctors and they have just been completely shafted by the new MTAS system introduced by my favourite health secretary. What does the BMA do? nothing. In fact James Johnson wrote THIS letter to the Times today [...]