Is The Ministry Cursed?
All change in the Department of Health once again as the Minister in charge of vaping loses his job – with 9 MPs holding the post in 10 years, is this position and the Department cursed?
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by Dave Cross
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Is the position of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention (Minister for Health) a cursed post? The minister with responsibility for vaping and tobacco harm reduction has changed hands with deplorable frequency, given its importance to the nation – nine ministers in ten years, some lasting just a few weeks. The latest victim is Andrew Gwynne, the Member of Parliament for Gorton and Denton since 2005, sacked by the Prime Minister for “badly misjudged comments”.
Exposed by the Mail on Sunday, Andrew Gwynne was accused of posting “racist and sexist messages” to a private WhatsApp group called Trigger Me Timbers. The leak suggests someone contained within the group clearly felt Gwynne should not be allowed to continue in his post – something the Prime Minister agreed with.
Gwynne’s comments included hoping a 72-year-old woman would die after she contacted him about her bins. He reposted her letter to WhatsApp and wrote: “Dear resident, f*** your bins. I’m re-elected and without your vote. Screw you. PS: Hopefully you’ll have croaked it by the all-outs.”
He also made a series of antisemitic comments about American Jewish psychologist Marshall Rosenberg.
According to the Mail, he also made racist comments about Labour MP Diane Abbott and vulgar comments about “Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner performing a sex act”.
In addition to hoping a local cycling campaigner was hit by a bin lorry, Andrew Gwynne referred to a local Labour leader as “Colin C*mface”.
Responding to the news of Gwynne’s indiscretions, a spokesperson for the Government told journalists in a statement: “The prime minister is determined to uphold high standards of conduct in public office and lead a government in the service of working people. He will not hesitate to take action against any minister who fails to meet these standards, as he has in this case.”
Responding to his sacking on Twitter/X, Andrew Gwynne MP said: “I deeply regret my badly misjudged comments and apologise for any offense I’ve caused. I’ve served the Labour Party all my life and it was a huge honour to be appointed a minister by Keir Starmer.
“I entirely understand the decisions the PM and the party have taken and, while very sad to have been suspended, will support them in any way I can.”
Incumbents to the office of Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention (Minister for Health) over the last 10 years:
- Jane Ellison, Tory
- Nicola Blackwood, Tory
- Steve Brine, Tory
- Seema Kennedy, Tory (3 months)
- Jo Churchill, Tory (1.5 months)
- Maggie Throup, Tory
- Neil O’Brien, Tory
- Andrea Leadsom, Tory
- Andrew Gwynne, Labour
The Prime Minister has since confirmed that Andrew Gwynne has been sacked.
The spokesperson commented: “Andrew Gwynne has been administratively suspended as a member of the Labour Party. We are investigating comments made in this WhatsApp group in line with the Labour Party’s rules and procedures. Swift action will be taken if individuals are found to have breached the high standards expected of them as Labour Party members.”
Gwynne was last seen commenting in the committee stage of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, where he continually alluded to possible yet unevidenced negative effects of vaping. As the Bill has now moved on from the committee stage, his replacement will not be able to inject some sense (even if they wanted to) as it now proceeds to the final vote.
Up to Steve Brine, the UK Government focussed on evidenced-based decision making. The UK has seen a gradual slide since as the focus degenerated and policy became rooted in half-truths, conjecture, and prohibitionist opinions. It’s vital that Gwynne’s successor brings an appreciation of scientific evidence to the post and returns policy making to embracing vaping and tobacco harm reduction.
Photo Credit:
Department image contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, by Department of Health and Social Care - https://twitter.com/DHSCgovuk/status/1497600864319586315, OGL 3, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=115642362
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous start-ups to develop content for their websites.
