patronage

Patronage is defined as "the support given by a patron". In politics, patronage can refer to a leader appointing "yes men" to support a power base, surrounding yourself with people who share your beliefs and will remain loyal to you. Sounds pretty simple and harmless right? It can also be used as a very cunning ploy. Patronage was a very effective tool used by a certain Josef Stalin in his plight for power, and he used it effectively to deceptively outmanoeuvre his opponents who had seemingly better credentials for being leader of the USSR.The reason why I bring this up is in relation to David Cameron's cabinet reshuffle. I know this seems an instant exaggeration, something like Godwin's law where any bad thing will eventually find its way being compared to Hitler, but hear me out.

This reshuffle is the first pure Tory cabinet in 18 years and has some interesting members. Before going into details, let's give an overview of the 21 men and women Cameron has appointed. Half of these men and women went to Oxbridge, two thirds of the cabinet, are male and 1/3 voted against gay marriage.

Now onto individuals:

• Justin Tomlinslon: new disabilities minister. Voted against protecting benefits for disabled children and cancer patients, but voted in favour of the bedroom tax. In his new job, Tomlinson has unprecedented access to the access to work fund which aims to help disabled people enter work. So it seems the future of the disabled is in safe hands...
• Justice Secretary Michael Gove. Gove has declared that it was wrong to abolish hanging in the 1960s, and the abolition of the noose has led to a 'corruption of our criminal system' and  the 'erosion of all of our freedoms'. Justice secretary. Just let that sink in. 
• John Wittingdale, Culture Secretary. This position will see over how the BBC is run. Wittingdale is openly critical of the licence fee, and if his concessions were made, our BBC would be gravely damaged. Oh, and also, he has voted against gay marriage and has 'voted moderately against laws to promote equality and human rights.'
• Caroline Dineage has been appointed Minister for Equalities and will work with Education Secretary Nicky Morgan. Both of these women have also voted against gay marriage. Once more, a certain sense of irony in Cameron appointing someone opposed to gay marriage as Equalities minister.
• Iain Duncan Smith is Work and Pensions Secretary- he's the man who we'll blame for overseeing the £12bn welfare cuts. 
• Jeremy Hunt has remained as health secretary which means he will be in charge of the NHS. As I said in my previous post, his views that the NHS should be abolished are not a very good omen, Another example of irony in Cameron's appointments. 

Whilst the comparison of the role patronage played in Stalin's power struggle of 1924 is a bit of an exaggeration, I think that patronage is an extremely important concept to consider when looking at Cameron's cabinet reshuffle. Whilst uncle Joe used patronage to establish a power base and then execute his population, Cameron has established power through a 'majority' vote, and now his use of patronage is to assure his decisions are executed efficiently. It appears to me that he has appointed these members because they hold the views that he is too afriad to admit to, the effect of this being that when he issues these laws and cuts- there will be no opposition and will be passed swiftly. Cameron must be delighted to have rid himself of the coalition cabinet where Lib Dem ministers blocked many Conservative propositions being passed. Unfortunately those coalition days have passed, and I reckon that once we see the motions carried by this new cabinet, we will realise how fortunate we were to have  the Liberal Democrats moderating the Tory delegation.