Coalition brings on left-wing voices
By politics.co.uk staff
Two distinct left-wing voices will be added to the Lib-Con coalition, it has been announced.
Maverick Labour MP Frank Field will advise the government as poverty tsar while columnist and former Observer editor Will Hutton will head a review of public sector pay.
The decision to give Mr Hutton, a solidly left-wing commentator, a role reflects a desire to appease centre-left voters and Lib Dem members as concern grows about Britain’s third party getting into bed with the Tories.
The appointment will be demanding. Before the election, the Tories promised that senior managers should not earn more than 20 times the salary of the lowest paid employee of the organisation.
“It will also address the level of remuneration needed to retain, attract and motivate staff of the quality required – especially given what is happening to private sector pay, and the extent to which distortions and market failures in private sector pay create pressure for unfair pay multiples in the public sector,” Mr Hutton said.
“The review will include staff covered by the senior salaries review body, non- departmental bodies and managers in local government and the NHS.”
Mr Field will make a less surprising addition to the government team, despite his Labour credentials. Formerly tasked with welfare reform, he was left adrift when his solutions were considered politically unpalatable.
He then worked closely with Nicholas Soames, a largely unliked figure on the Labour benches, to tackle immigration issues. Many Labour MPs were uncomfortable with how enthusiastically Mr Field addressed the issue.
He also entered into a protracted war of words with Gordon Brown over the 10p tax debacle and appeared next to David Cameron at a political event earlier this year.
