Peter Hain ……. And Russell Deacon
I think it was inevitable that Peter Hain was going to have to go for the non-disclosures in his Deputy Leadership campaign. The political perspective was always that over £100,000 of non-disclosure was going to be difficult for the Labour Party, and now with Police involvement the outcome, I think, was inevitable.
Spare a thought, not just for Peter Hain on a personal basis, but also for Dr Russell Deacon who in today’s Western Mail was assessing the career and future of Peter Hain . He posed the question of |Hain’s future when confronted with his current difficulties. They do not ‘however, really add up to a great deal when compared to some of his predecessors as Welsh Secretary?’ said Russell.
He continues, “If the media’s focus moves off Hain once more, his own problems may well pale into insignificance when compared to his more politically infamous predecessors.” The timing of the article makes one wonder whether, to the curse of Lembit Opik, we need to add the curse of Russell Deacon.
Even before today’s events began to unfold, reading Russell’s article and asking whether Peter Hain could be the first Welsh Secretary to break the golden rule by becoming Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary, Chancellor or, indeed, Prime Minister, I was tempted to pick up the phone to speak to Russell to say that I think he would get much better odds on William Hague accomplishing that feat than Peter Hain. That was the case this morning. This is very much the case now.
