No need to purge Cabinet of Scots – Straw

JACK Straw, the Justice Secretary, hit back yesterday after calls from Labour MPs for Gordon Brown to replace the Scots in his Cabinet with English politicians.

Mr Straw, who has been named as a possible replacement for the beleaguered Prime Minister, said there were "plenty" of "English people – true-born Englishmen and women" in the Cabinet and there was no need for any changes.

The Justice Secretary was responding to suggestions from two back-benchers who have become worried that the number of Scots in Mr Brown's Cabinet is harming Labour's chances in England.

Stephen Ladyman, a former roads minister who is MP for the marginal constituency of Thanet South, said: "It is important to recognise that the election is won or lost in England. We need to have English voices speaking and giving messages that make sense in English communities."

And Lindsay Hoyle, the MP for Chorley, said: "Voters are looking to see a better balance within the Cabinet to ensure that all the regions of England are represented."

Keith Vaz, a member of Labour's national executive committee and chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, also raised the issue of the vacant deputy prime minister's job and called for Mr Straw, an Englishman, to be given the role.

Labour MPs have become increasingly worried about their chances of political survival at the next election and some believe that Mr Brown's "Scottishness" does not play well with some English voters.

There has also been concern over what has been termed the "Scottish McMafia" around the Prime Minister, the number of Scottish Cabinet ministers and advisers around Mr Brown. But these complaints have been largely kept private, until now.

It is a sign of how worried some Labour MPs are, that such views have now been declared publicly.

One poll last week put Labour at its lowest level since polling began in 1943 with 23 per cent.

Caledonian connections

THERE are 23 members of the UK Cabinet, four of whom are Scottish and represent Scottish constituencies.

This represents 17.4 per cent of the total Cabinet when Scotland accounts for about 9 per cent of the UK population. They are:

1 Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister and MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.

2 Alistair Darling, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and MP for Edinburgh South West.

3 Des Browne, Scottish Secretary and Defence Secretary, and the MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun.

4 Douglas Alexander, International Develop-ment Secretary, MP for Paisley/Renfrewshire South.