Burnham Wants To Appoint My little Pony as His Chancellor

 

For reasons best known to himself, Burnham wants to appoint My Little Pony (Louise Haigh) as his Chancellor. The idea that Andy Burnham could put Louise Haigh in charge of the Treasury is truly disgraceful.

The Chancellor is not just another cabinet minister. It is one of the most important positions in government, carrying responsibility for the nation’s finances, economic stability and international credibility. Whoever occupies the role must command trust.

That is precisely why the prospect of Louise Haigh becoming Chancellor is so alarming.

Haigh resigned from government after it emerged that she had pleaded guilty in 2014 to fraud by false representation relating to a mobile phone incident, receiving a criminal conviction and a conditional discharge. She admitted the offence in court and was forced to leave the Cabinet when the matter became public. 

For most people, a criminal conviction for fraud would raise serious questions about suitability for high office. For someone being considered for Chancellor of the Exchequer — the person responsible for overseeing hundreds of billions of pounds of public money — those questions become impossible to ignore.